In this thesis I explore the following question: When a government agency is charged with implementing policies formulated in the light of scientific principles, why do the justifications for implementation differ from justifications for the legislation? The predator reintroduction being carried out under the Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery Plan, now 19 years old, has recently catalyzed a national controversy about the value of wildlife. My goal is to examine the reasons why the ecological values that infuse government policy play little part in governmental justifications for policy implementation.