A Colorado group has recently received over 210,000 signatures in hopes of bringing the return of wolves to a vote in 2020.
On Tuesday, December 10, the Rocky Mountain Wolf Action Fund (RMWAF) announced that they submitted over 210,000 signatures from Colorado citizens in the fight to restore gray wolves in the state. This means that have exceeded the number of signatures needed in order to make the 2020 ballot and bring this issue to a vote.
The RMWAF describes themselves as "an organization of committed conservationists motivated by the belief that Coloradans overwhelmingly support the gray wolf's return to the state."
Reintroducing the gray wolves to the state of Colorado could have many benefits. When presented with the question, "why should we reintroduce wolves to Colorado?", the Rocky Mountain Wolf Action Fund replied with the following:
"Since the 1940s, when Colorado's last wolf was killed, our ecosystem has suffered. A lack of natural balance means that too many elk and deer eat away the vegetation that holds streams and rivers back, leading to erosion and the disruption of even more habitats, like those for native beavers and songbirds. Wolves also naturally limit the spread of disease, such as Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), by taking vulnerable animals out of the population."
Wolves would help to control the deer and elk population, which in turn would help our ecosystem.
We can look to the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park for an example of how the gray wolves could help with this issue. According to an article about the Yellowstone Wolves on their website, once the wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone, there was a regeneration of Aspen trees and many species who benefited from their habitats no longer being interrupted by the grazing elk. There has been an obvious connection between wolf reintroduction and ecosystem balance in the national park, with strong scientific evidence to support this claim.
The hope is that we could see the same effects happen here in Colorado.
Courtesy of Rocky Mountain Wolf Action Fund (Facebook)
On the other end, some may be concerned with livestock deaths due to wolf reintroduction. The RMWAF states that if wolves were to be reintroduced to Colorado, there would be compensation from the state for wolf-related livestock losses and that there are non-lethal tactics that would be allowed to deter wolves. They have also mentioned, however, that livestock loses due to wolves in Yellowstone and Idaho since their reintroduction has made up for only 0.1 percent of total losses. There may also be a concern that wolves could be a danger to people. However, wolves hide from humans and fear us. According to RMWAF, "In the last 100 years, no wild wolves have killed humans. And since wolves came back to Yellowstone and Idaho, there have been zero attacks on humans."
In July of this year, there were several gray wolves spotted in Jackson and Grand Counties, with one even being caught on camera.
Bringing this many votes to the Colorado Secretary of State can be seen as a huge win for the Rocky Mountain Wolf Action Fund. If you'd like to help them, you can make a donation to the cause on their site here. You can also sign up for their email list to stay up-to-date on the fight to restore gray wolves to Colorado.
What is your stance on reintroducing grey wolves to Colorado? Let us know in the comments!
