Editorial: Wacky wolf claims persist

MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • August 4, 2026

In a column in the Bangor Daily News on August 4, hunting advocate V. Paul Reynolds says that Gerry Lavigne, of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, claims “wolves were illegally released, most likely by wolf reintroduction advocates.” Reynolds also says that “a thriving wolf population could literally extirpate white-tailed deer in Maine’s North Woods.” First, the claim accusing wolf restoration advocates is without any evidence. It is blame by unsupported inuendo. Second, the claim that wolves could wipe out the deer herd in northern Maine is scientifically unsubstantiated. Wolf restorations in the West have had the opposite effect, making the elk herd more resilient by culling the weakest. Hunter bias does not equal good science.