By Alma “Rosie” Sanchez
The past three years of my life have been spent talking to people about wolves returning to Colorado. I heard people’s fears and the potential impact on individuals’ livelihood and way of life. I also heard excitement about the possible benefits of returning a native carnivore and living ancestor to their home. I was working to pass Proposition 114 — the return of wolves to Colorado — and, after that success, further educating the public on what their return would mean for our state. But in the process, another real opportunity made itself clear to me, an opportunity for Colorado to take the lead in getting something audacious and difficult right: welcoming wolves home to Colorado.
Unlike the war-on-wolves in the Northern Rockies as well as the federal slog that is Mexican wolf recovery in the Southwest, Colorado could bring about something different that actually works for wolves, Coloradans and the landscape.
There are ways Colorado is already standing out from the aforementioned regions. Colorado will be the first state in history to reintroduce an endangered species to the state via ballot measure. Be the opposition as it may, I would call that a win for democracy. We have a group of committed CPW Commissioners and staff who are ready not only to bring wolves back but to do so according to science and public values. And Colorado is home to 17 million acres of protected public (federal and state) lands on the Western slope and home to the largest elk herd in the world. All of these factors should set us, and wolves, on a path to meaningful recovery.
Public input, livestock loss compensation, conflict prevention and funding were all important pieces of Proposition 114 and these issues have been considered, at length, in the current official planning process. But, what seems to be absent from the current planning process are two critical clauses of the ballot measure: CPW is tasked with restoring a “self-sustaining population” of gray wolves to “help restore a critical balance in nature.” That’s what Colorado needs to achieve as part of the plan as well.
WildEarth Guardians is putting forward a model Colorado Wolf Restoration Plan that I believe creates the best likelihood for ensuring both the success of wolves brought into the state and the human interests that may be impacted by their return. The plan is not about choosing wolves over people; it’s about providing a framework so that wolf restoration and human interests do not live as mutually exclusive concepts.
The plan — driven by science and the belief that wolves belong — would effectively restore wolves throughout the Western Slope to what is considered a “self-sustaining” population based on modeling of how many wolves Colorado can support considering area and resources.
The plan has identified twelve reintroduction zones based on prey base, road density, land ownership and forested status. These reintroduction zones reflect and respect the decision by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe not to reintroduce wolves on sovereign land. While we know wolves innately roam, these locations — distributed across the Western Slope and focused primarily on wilderness areas — would create a great start in bringing about the ecological healing that wolves inevitably help with.
The WildEarth Guardians plan also offers conflict minimization and livestock loss strategy. Along with Guardians, I strongly believe that the best, most effective way to deal with conflicts is through proactive, creative, non-lethal tactics.
The Colorado Wolf Restoration Plan has been endorsed by multiple conservation, wildlife and outdoor organizations, both Colorado-based and larger. The plan is based on historical data and reintroduction science. It is an aspirational plan articulating what could be an incredibly beneficial future from a cultural, ecological and even economic standpoint for Colorado. For everyday Coloradans and decision-makers in our state, it is worth a read and commitment to see what our state could be and how we can meaningfully live alongside wolves once again.
Alma “Rosie” Sanchez is a Latina activist. She lives in Westminster.
