Barry Noonana dnd Kevin Crooks are Wildlife Ecology Professors at Colorado State................They opine passionately and accurately in an op ed piece in the Coloradoan newspaper about the mistaken notion of possibly delisting Wolves across the USA and just allowing them to exist where they currently have a toehold(Northern Rockies and Great Lakes States)..................As they state---"Having wolves in other parts of the country is important but does nothing to recover and sustain food webs and biological diversity in Colorado".............They also quote Naturalist Aldo Leopold stating--- "Relegating grizzly bears to Alaska was like relegating happiness to heaven"............ "The problem is one may never get there"...............The same might be said of restricting the gray wolf to the Northern Rockies and Great Lakes, about 15 percent of their historic range in the continental U.S.

Soapbox: Wolves benefit wildlife ecology in Colorado

coloradoan.com

Aldo Leopold, a founding father

 of wildlife conservation
 in North 

America, wrote that
relegating

 grizzly bears to Alaska
 was like 

relegating happiness to
heaven. 

The problem is one may
never get there.

The same might be said
 of restricting

 the gray wolf to the
Northern Rockies

 and Great Lakes, about
15 percent of

 their historic range in the
 continental

 U.S. Our desire to have
wolves in

 Colorado goes beyond
 the thrill of 

experiencing such a
regal animal in

 the wild. Rather, it is
 based on the 

role of wolves in
Rocky Mountain

 ecosystems and their
contribution 

to a diverse wildlife
community. Having

 wolves in other parts
 of the country is

 important but does
 nothing to recover

 and sustain food webs
 and biological

 diversity in Colorado.

The decline of top
 predators — species

 that hunt, kill and
 consume other animals

 — can initiate cascading
 effects that ripple

 throughout the food
web. If wolves were

 re-established in
Colorado, they would 

consume deer and elk,
 and the abundance

 of these species may
 decline in some areas

. Not surprisingly, many
hunters oppose the

 reintroduction of wolves
 for this reason. 

However, overabundant
deer and elk 

populations are susceptible
 to disease 

outbreaks and have
significant negative 

impacts on the environment.
 High levels 

of browsing on streamside
plants, for 

example, can adversely
impact many 

wildlife species, including
 birds, mammals 

and fish. Deer and elk
populations can be

 controlled by hunting,
but the size, age

 and health of animals
consumed by wolves

 may show little
resemblance to those

harvested by hunters.

Since the gray wolf was
 reintroduced to

 Yellowstone, it has helped
 restore the

 natural balance of the
ecological community.

 Reduced browsing by
 elk has contributed

 to increased growth of
aspen, willow and 

cottonwoods, resulting
 in more food and

 habitat for beavers,
songbirds and fish.

It would be naïve to
ignore some people's

 intolerance of wolves.
 This intolerance has

 deep historical roots but,
 in North America

, is not based on credible
 risks to human

 welfare. The likelihood
of direct human-wolf 

conflict is negligible.
Wolves are a threat to

 domestic livestock, but
 most western states

 have programs that
compensate for the loss

 of livestock to wolf
predation.

Since the gray wolf
was reintroduced to

 Yellowstone, it has
 helped restore the 

natural balance of the
ecological community.

 Reduced browsing by
 elk has contributed

to increased growth of
 aspen, willow and

 cottonwoods, resulting
 in more food and

 habitat for beavers,
songbirds and fish.

Unfortunately, a recent proposal from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service could effectively end gray wolf recovery efforts nationwide.
 Colorado contains large areas of public lands with sufficient prey to
support healthy wolf populations. Direct reintroduction of wolves, or
allowing them to naturally colonize these areas, would go a long way
 toward returning the Colorado landscape to a more natural state with
the potential to benefit all of Colorado’s wildlife. Moreover, it is likely
 to boost tourism; surveys in Yellowstone National Park have shown
 that nearly half of park visitors listed wolves as the animal they would
most like to see on their trip and this has translated into tens of millions
of dollars annually to the local economy.

The Fish and Wildlife Service position restricts small gray wolf
populations to Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, meaning that wolves
are not welcome in Colorado despite their ecological importance and
support by the majority of Colorado residents. If you share our wish to
 experience wolves while exploring the Colorado landscape, please
contact the Fish & Wildlife Service and urge them to continue to
provide federal protections for the gray wolf.

Barry R. Noon (pictured) and Kevin

 R. Crooks are professors of wildlife

 ecology at Colorado State University