Dear Editor:
It seems popular vote has taken root in all of the affairs of this state, including emotion driven conclusions about our ecosystem. When did John and Jane Q. Public become biological experts? Why would we assume we know more than the good men and women who manage our wildlife and ecosystems? In this information era, we are afforded unlimited access to information, true and not so much. Therefore, we must all be experts and vote on the matter. In a piece delivered by the KMGH TV 360 Stories department dated Dec. 12, 2019, covering wolf re-introduction as a ballot issue (https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/360/supporters-farmers-at-odds-over-reintroducing-wolves-to-colorado), the story panned about 135 degrees of the 360 degrees it professes. There is a serious negligence in the presentation of cons to the introduction of Wolves to Western Colorado or any other part of the State.
Let’s begin with the fact that the Northern or “Alaskan” gray wolf is not a native of Colorado nor has it ever been and thus, has no business here. This is a much larger and more aggressive species than was formerly present in the form of the Mexican gray wolf. We have all seen the effects of intentionally or accidentally introducing non-native predators in places where they have no natural predation or competition. I present the Florida Everglades as the most compelling example. I would call it an invasion rather than a re-introduction as proponents would have us believe. Hyper-predators, protected and unchecked, do and always will equate to the decimation of the native inhabitants.
Presently, Colorado enjoys the greatest elk and mule deer herds in the country, as well as the Shiras moose and wild horses. These populations are well managed by the Division of Wildlife and National Park Services funded primarily by sportsmen and national park users. Since the initial introductions in Yellowstone and Idaho of 66 of these apex predators, their numbers grew to around 1,700 by 2015. Wolves are known to have a general hunting range of up to 50 miles and will go 600 to 1,000 miles in pursuit of hunting grounds. Needless to say, their territory now expands far beyond the protected parks that we humans don’t populate. In these areas, where wolves have been introduced, the ungulate populations have been reduced by 75% of their pre-wolf existence.
Wolves are thought to prey on sick or weak animals and to some degree, that is so. It is also a fact that they create sickness in the animals on which they prey. They are carriers of the deadly Hytadid organism which are spread when ungulates ingest foliage contaminated by infested wolf feces (https://www.stopthewolf.org/get-the-facts/2019/8/8/wolves-amp-hydatid-disease). The infected herbivores then develop cysts in the lungs and often the brains which prove lethal. Domestic ungulates are not immune to Hytadid disease and in turn, the organism can be carried by domestic pets to their unsuspecting owners. It was determined through a study conducted by the Idaho Division of Fish and Game that 62% of the wolves that they tested for Hytadid were carriers of the adult worm from which they suffer only asymptomatic effects. Prior to the introduction of wolves in Idaho, the organism also known as Echinococcus granulosus had not been identified in ungulates. While wolves will prey on these infected animals, they are opportunists and will capitalize on any prey which they can overcome. It may be true that a wolf will refrain from taking on a guard dog. However, there is no prey animal that a pack of wolves can’t overcome, including domestic dogs. It is recorded and common knowledge among sportsmen that predatory Canids will lure domestic dogs to a pack to be overcome.
It is also arbitrary for proponents of wolf introduction to state that there was little opposition in Western Colorado to their agenda. Any lack of opposition can also be attributed to a lack of publicity and attendance during the opportunity presented. There is a growing list of opponents in the affected areas that don’t care to have these non-native predators in their neighborhood (see stopthewolf.org, warning, content is graphic!). Now protected, these wolves have spread to Washington, Oregon, California, Wyoming and yes, Colorado. Numbers have increased as such that the Department of Interior now proposes delisting them as the criteria for endangered species eligibility no longer exists. While there are always more experts, I would like to include the author of “The Real Wolf”, Ted Lyon, J.D. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayvTJwTiqxI as well as Professor Valerius Geist. Ph. D. https://wolfeducationinternational.com/dr-v-geist-speech-big-game-forever-banquet-and-wolf-symposium/. Also, Ron Velarde, a former Northwest Regional Manager for the Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Take a moment to watch Ron’s video here: https://www.stopthewolf.org/moose-video.
These wolves will migrate to Colorado without an electoral decision. Coloradans who think reintroduction of the wolf is a good thing, don’t have these facts because objective and unbiased journalism is not requisite in today’s media. Leave wild life management to the real experts!
Respectfully,
Roy “Hank” McKay
Concerned Western Slope Coloradan
