Living in harmony

Colorado Parks and Wildlife recently released their draft Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan. Their plan allows for wolves to be killed on protected public lands.

It is futile to bring wolves into the state if they are allowed to be killed. In an August 2022 statewide survey of 1,500 Colorado voters, nearly two-thirds said they believed that Colorado’s gray wolves should not be trophy hunted or trapped after they have returned to Colorado. The survey was weighted to Republicans and Western Colorado voters.

Colorado voters also approved Proposition 114, which calls for using scientific data when implementing the gray wolf restoration plan. It is time to embrace sound science. Scientific studies have shown that killing wolves does nothing to reduce livestock losses.

What is needed is nonlethal wolf stewardship instead of wolf management that allows killing. Nonlethal human-wildlife coexistence is key. Doing this will lead to a successful and sustainable wolf reintroduction for all concerned.

– Michael Wenzl, Pueblo