I’m writing to express my outrage over the new federal rule weakening federal protection for gray wolves, actually all wolves. Here in Maine, some wolves are just now roaming free again, some want to strip federal protections from these beautiful animals. Bounties, over-harvesting and loss of habitat resulted in the disappearance of wolves from Maine.

Wolves are one of the most misunderstood creatures in the animal kingdom. Their numbers are rapidly diminishing. The gray wolf, which can adapt to many climates and areas, has been reduced from numbers as high as 700,000 to a mere 6,000. The numbers of the beautiful animal have dropped so dramatically because of the colonization of the wolf’s habitat.

For example, the wolf used to live in all 50 of America’s states and now it only lives in four, including Maine. Maine had approximately 18,000 miles of suitable wolf habitat and that our deer population is the largest in a century. The amount of prey determines the number of predators. Maine’s estimated number of deer population is 331,000 animals; moose 35,000 and beavers in the tens of thousands. These animals have all lost their natural predator, the wolf.

Wolves strengthen the biodiversity of a region by bringing into balance species with large populations and bolstering species under stress.

I urge the restoration of protections so that they can continue their recovery. We need to save wildlife like wolves for future generations. We need to enforce the Endangered Species Act.

Demetria Davis, Auburn