Colorado Wolves Reintroduction

[Cygnus X1]

CPW biologists are the experts and should continue to determine appropriate management of predator populations.

[Iguru]

I have a hunch that ballot box biology is monitored very closely by CPW.
In other words, approval by voters won't hamstring CPW authority over wildlife management.
I will end my input on the subject here.

[summitrunner]

I hear the argument that wolves will not interact with humans in Colorado. I'm wondering if this data is accurate given the population density that Colorado has today versus the population density that Colorado once had. Wyoming has roughly six people per square mile versus Colorado's population density of roughly 52 people per square mile. I understand that this population density is really amplified from Fort Collins to Pueblo and not so much anywhere else (Summit County has a population density of 51 people per square mile for what it's worth). The Front Range density does migrate west often. Coloradans love to hike, ski, camp, etc. in wolf habitat easily more than they did in the 1800s, 1900s, or even 1990s. This petri dish experiment will be interesting to watch.

Wolves are not seen the same way that bears or mountain lions are in our historic culture. Wolves are more akin to sharks in our media and culture. Think of the movies and TV shows featuring deplorable wolves. Sharks certainly kill more people than wolves do every year. I'm wondering if opinions will change when a wolf attacks a camper, hiker, bike, skier, or just a kid playing in a neighborhood on the edge of a mountain town. I have a child and live on the edge of a mountain town.

Most wolf fatalities have taken place from Turkey to India in the world over the last two decades. Only two humans killed by wolves since 2002 took place in the western hemisphere (one in Canada and one on the US). This thread has focused heavily on elk, deer, and livestock. What happens when a wolf kills a human or a pet in Colorado, or a pack attacks or threatens humans on Colorado? What social impacts will happen in the region or town where the wolf danger is televised on the nightly news? What happens to the economy or the people of that region?

Grizzlies are next up. Where do we stop?

[LURE]

there will definitely be some interaction between recreationalists and wolves as their numbers grow. plenty of interaction will occur between ranchers and wolves.

but there is an incredible amount of recreation that occurs in the areas around yellowstone and in idaho between hunting, backpacking, mt biking, running etc, where there are plenty of wolves and dangerous encounters just remain extraordinarily rare.

as far as danger, they will hardly be a thought on my mind when recreating where they are in colorado. of course, the chances for occasional dangerous encounters are not zero, just like black bears and mt lions. but even black bears and mt lions barely register on my list of concerns as far as danger goes when in the woods of colorado.

when a wolf kills a human, which could absolutely happen at some point, it will be like when a black bear or mt lion attacks a human. cpw will attempt to locate the animal and euthanize it, standard protocol. we don't wish for the all out extermination of black bears or lions for those reasons as it is jsut one of the risks that exist in being outside, and it's a pretty damn tiny risk at that. i think we will continue to see more dangerous encounters with black bears than wolves and even that is rather rare.

pets? well, yeah that's gonna happen. mt lions get at plenty of domestic pets and the wolves have already killed some ranching dogs. another thing that just is what it is. even if we were not to be getting wolves, the reality is you already have to think twice about having domestic animals outside in mt communities.

hell, even on the front range the odds of your cat or small dog dissappearing at the hands of coyotes are far from zero. just is what it is. wolves will just be another small player in that already ongoing dynamic.

[summitrunner]

I will respectfully disagree. Wolves are historically and culturally seen in a different light than bears or mountain lions. Politically they are seen in a far more extreme light since they were reintroduced. The Central Rockies of Colorado are not Yellowstone, either.

[LURE]

Wolves are historically and culturally seen in a different light than bears or mountain lions. Politically they are seen in a far more extreme light since they were reintroduced. The Central Rockies of Colorado are not Yellowstone, either.

i agree with all of that.

but as far as objective danger to humans with having wolves on the landscape? i just don't see the evidence that it's something that should be on the primary list of concerns and is not a good reason to argue against reintroduction. it's moot anyway because it's happening.

you can search the data yourself in all the states that have wolves in them with myriad terrains and habitats between all of them. places plenty of outdoor recreation and even higher densities of people that live in those places. pretty quick stuff to find with gogole. the data simply doesn't support the conclusion that wolves pose a significant threat to humans.

[summitrunner]

It is not just the recreation. These are communities of 100s or 1000s (some places tens of thousands) dotted 20-60 mi apart with a lot of easily accessible food sources. The mountains are not just a playground. There are homes and schools and neighborhoods.

[summitrunner]

All it takes is one time, one incident, one news van. Easy to use Google to search the impact Jaws had on tourism.

[SkaredShtles]

Excellent to see irrational fear of the Big Bad Wolf being stoked here!

[LURE]

lot's of schools and neighborhoods in northern wisconisn and michigan. they don't seem to be cowering under the kitchen tables from all the wolves as far as i can tell.

the danger you hyperbolize already exists with mt lions and bears and it is an example of how both sides of this are sensationalizing things at great expense to reality.

let's just try to be realistic about this whole thing. it will benefit everybody.

[summitrunner]

Not being irrational. Fear of wolves is ingrained in all of us through fairytales and media. This fear will be compounded exponentially in the state given the historic relationship with wolves (irradication) and the polarizing politics that wolves have in the state (the map from the news story). It takes just one time, one incident, and an entire community in Colorado could be devastated. This isn't Northern Michigan or Minnesota or Wisconsin. An easy Google search shows Colorado's second biggest industry is tourism. Wyoming's total GDP is $36 billion...Colorado's tourism is $25 billion. We are not comparing apples to apples or even apples to applesauce here. Tourism doesn't crack the Top 5 in those above Midwest states. What if a pack of wolves attacks an Instagram model trying to feed them Doritos at Turquoise Lake? Non-mountain residents feed crap to all of the critters all of the time or try to get well timed filter selfies with critters and pay the price. What fallout will take place in Lake County because of a tourist and cheese dusted tortilla chips? Do you remember the impact the coyote attack at Copper Mountain had on the resort after a couple tried to feed it a PBJ? The mountains are not just lift lines and grumpy ranchers. Maybe Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota would have more tourism without wolves? Correlation doesn't imply causation argument can go a lot of ways.

Werewolves in London of American origin, Big Bad Wolf, Liam Neeson hunting wolves, Twighlight, Disney's Zombies, etc. Wolves create fears that go back millenia. Google search what Jaws or any shark attacks have done to beach towns.

I don't own livestock or have pets. I have a child and we explore the woods everyday. I live in a town that is EXTREMELY dependent on tourism. The world isn't all accepting of a wolf attack like we think they should be. We accept bear attacks and rattlesnakes; they were sick or hurt or the human messed up with food or poking or getting too close. Other than stoned bears or Leo's SD grizzly, bears steal your picnic basket or are distracting costumes to local Vermont Police officers and we laugh in the media. Wolves are Jurassic Park raptors that can only be killed by a silver bullet. These perceptions are true and real in our culture.

Should the solution be to educate the masses of people that land at DIA every hour with a video of what not to do once you drive past Red Rocks? Wolves are fine in the upper Midwest or Wyoming because because because...could this be different? This experiment will be interesting to watch unfold.

[justiner]

LOL just wait until you realize wolves listen to heavy metal, worship satan, are communists, AND play violent video games!

We'll really stoke up the moral panic. Oh the hysteria!