The wolf in Yellowstone: Science, symbol, or politics? Deconstructing the conflict between environmentalism and wise use

In spring 1995, wolves were returned to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem for the first time in five decades. Despite this being hailed as a success, public opposition to the wolf remains intense in many rural communities surrounding the reintroduction site. This study shows that social controversy remains because it is much more than a debate about wolves; it is a conflict between the advocates of two social movements—environmentalism and wise use—struggling to impose their own preferences for land use in the American West. Wolves are merely symbols delineating the battle lines of a much larger conflict. Three underlying social issues drive the debate: (1) differential access to social power, (2) conflicting ideas about private property, and (3) divergent beliefs about nature. Recognizing these deeper levels of social conflict is important, because it is from here that future land use controversies are likely to emerge. By identifying and describing the symbolic nature of the wolf reintroduction conflict, this article addresses a major policy issue dividing the environmental movement from the wise use movement and reveals long‐standing social issues that recently have erupted into the foreground of policy discourse over the future of federal land management in the American West.