“U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service may use wolves to control elk in Colorado.” Headlines like that have been popping up all over the newspapers, chat forums, and other places these past few weeks since Federal officials announced that one of the alternatives in a proposed plan for managing the Alamosa, Baca, and Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) in south-central Colorado included using wolves to help manage the elk population. Given the problems in ID, MT, and WY and the issues with, and surrounding, the Yellowstone wolf reintroduction over the last decade or so, it’s no wonder a wide variety of Coloradoans – and especially hunters – have gotten fired up over the announcement.
But…what are the realities of wolves being introduced (or reintroduced, depending on who you talk to) into Colorado through this plan? Should hunters, livestock owners, and other interested parties be stocking up on torches and pitchforks just yet, or is there another way to look at this?
Now, I am ABSOLUTELY against wolves being introduced into Colorado. In my opinion we don’t need them to help with management of ANY game population ANYWHERE in the State, and don’t believe the State’s terrain and overall habitat in relation to roads, people, livestock, and game populations, are conducive to a SUCCESSFUL or MEANINGFUL wolf introduction. I believe an introduction would cause WAY more harm than ecological “good.” …and I’ll fight tooth-and-nail right along with everyone else if the Feds, or anyone, gets stupid and tries!
With that said, though, I’d submit that we should consider this:
The Feds MUST include “wolves” as an option. They simply must. Period. With the enviro’s doing what they’ve been doing with the ACTUAL wolf issue in ID, MT, and WY, and what they’ve been doing with, and in, the courts regarding the issue, the Feds can't NOT put them as “an option.” And while they list wolves as an option in the proposed Refuge plan, the Feds admit that wolves aren’t a “preferred” alternative.
If folks remember what transpired with the Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) issue, wolves were put on the “options” list fairly late in the game ONLY because the enviro’s pitched a fit. NO ONE in the Park Service actually thought it would ever see the light of day (OK, maybe a few...), it was just there largely as an appeasement to the enviro’s. Hunting by PUBLIC hunters was actually on the list as a higher option alternative, until, again...the enviro’s pitched a fit and were able to bring it down slightly to “volunteer sharpshooters.” And that is what we have today – and to my knowledge, using the sharpshooters has been successful enough in helping manage, and scatter, the elk herd in the Park that they no longer have to do it every year.
The Alamosa, Baca, Monte Vista NWR deal is WAY more controversial, and WAY less “contained” than RMNP is, or ever was, with a heck of a lot more potential for cattle and other livestock impacts than RMNP ever had. If it couldn’t work in RMNP, there isn’t a chance in HADES that it’ll be viable for the San Luis Valley. The Feds know this.
In my opinion, the only way that wolves would be introduced at the NWRs would be with a Federal Administration that blatantly and utterly disregards CO, effectively extends the State a formal “____ YOU!”, and moves forward in direct opposition to the State. …and it would likely be only ONE OR TWO people at the very top making that call.
With the relationship that the Feds have – and NEED – with CO right now (for a variety of reasons) – in my opinion – that wouldn’t happen; at least not on the NWRs. Even if they TRIED, CO would launch full-scale lawsuits to shut it down, and we’d be in for YEARS of litigation before anything happened. That would put us into a different Federal Administration, which would FURTHER reduce the likelihood of wolves being introduced. Given what the Feds have had to go through with wolf issue in ID, MT, and WY (all the time and money fighting in the Courts), and knowing that any CO effort would be 10X’s WORSE (because we all now have direct EXAMPLES of what the problems ARE and CAN BE – not just “hypotheticals”…), I tend to believe the Feds must know that any effort to bring wolves into CO in THIS manner, on THESE properties, would be political, and Agency, suicide.
Should people be fired up? Sure, why not. Should people be contacting their Legislators and other officials? ABSOLUTELY!!! …keep the opposition strong, and let our Legislators know that we’re watching, we’re organized, and we’re not going to be forced to swallow anything like this very easily. Should people be WORRIED? For THIS issue? …not in my opinion.
For me, I plan to stay on top of the issue, help make sure the organizations I'm involved with stay up-to-date on the latest news and information regarding this issue, make sure my Legislators know how I feel, and stay ready to jump into the fray IF "option C" looks like it starts gaining any traction. Until then, I'm going to keep my mental and emotional investment "throttled back" on this, and hover around a "strong idle." ...IF the time comes to punch the gas and "red-line" it, I'll be ready!
How about you?
