Analysis Of Thinking Like A Mountain By Aldo Leopold

In the 1940s ecologist Aldo Leopold penned his now famous essay “Thinking like a Mountain.” In his youth Leopold killed a wolf, but with reflection and wisdom that comes with age, he realized that wolves played a critical role in the interaction between prey species like deer and elk and plant communities. After seeing how too many deer and elk can strip a mountain of its vegetation, Leopold lamented that we needed to learn to think like a mountain — in other words, have a long-term view of the ecological role and value of predators.

It is disheartening that even after the passage of many decades, and much scientific evidence to support Leopold’s contention that wolf predation is critical to ecological integrity, state wildlife agencies like