Colorado’s natural balance—and how wolves fit in.
Before we explain how we want to reintroduce the gray wolf to Colorado, let’s explore the why.
Wolves have been missing from Colorado’s landscape for over half a century, since humans forced them out in the 1940s. Colorado was their historic home but after decades of human activities, like hunting and trapping, they have essentially disappeared from the wild. For years, they roamed the Rockies and kept our balance in check and now… they’re missing.
In Colorado, there’s no shortage of elk and deer, and experts agree that reintroducing the gray wolf won’t drastically affect their populations. By keeping deer and elk populations at healthy levels, the gray wolf would also help promote populations of dozens of other species in our wild, like songbirds, beavers, and bears.
Caption: A healthy ecosystem depends on diverse wildlife.
In Yellowstone National Park, the deliberate elimination of wolves cleared the way for a surge in elk and deer, leading to overgrazing and land erosion—and hurting species that relied on a balanced landscape. When Yellowstone reintroduced wolves in the mid-1990s, the Park’s ecosystems soon bounced back to a state more like the early 1900s, before the eradication of wolves. We’ve seen it work in Yellowstone National Park, and we can make it work right here in Colorado.
Put simply, creating a natural balance means reestablishing the gray wolf. And, for us, that means creating a plan modeled after Yellowstone: we want to reintroduce a few wolves in western Colorado to establish a slow, sustained, and controlled population over many years.
Wolves aren’t the big, bad animals Hollywood makes them out to be, and Colorado is a a vast place with approximately 17 million acres of public lands. That means we can safely coexist with wolves who, frankly, want nothing to do with us. Wolves help to sustain our ecosystems and are less of a threat to you or your family than lightning—or even a vending machine.
Our effort is bigger than wolves—it’s about protecting Colorado’s proud legacy and commitment to preserving our native wildlife.
Help our project by contributing here: https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/rockymtnwolf
