Despite landowners' worries about what they see as the federal government's wholesale neglect of property owners' concerns when wildlife is reintroduced, the actual scenario under the Endangered Species Act is far less bleak. Says a UC Davis law professor, property owners' interests wield considerable political influence, and that fact, coupled with a government recognition that landowner cooperation is vital to restoration efforts' success, prevents the government from running roughshod over property owners. The rules of the Endangered Species Act provide numerous protections for landowners affected by a government decision to, for example, return wild wolves to the Yellowstone Park area, says Holly Doremus, who specializes in environmental law. The government must consult with those landowners affected before releasing a listed species into an area. "These rules do seem to have reduced conflicts between landowners and introduced wildlife," Doremus says. "Livestock losses to wolves in the Northern Rockies, for example, have been considerably lower than estimated in the environmental impact statement for reintroduction to Yellowstone." Doremus spoke recently at the Wallace Stegner Center Symposium in Salt Lake City.