Can we learn to live
with wolves again?
Event at Fort Lewis College to
explore the possibility of reintroduction
Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018
In Colorado, we have 12 streams named Wolf Creek,
yet officially, we have no wolves in our sPhotoate.
yet officially, we have no wolves in our sPhotoate.
A reprint of a rare book helps to explain the loss of
Colorado’s wolves, and the Durango Wolf
Symposium at Fort Lewis College will provide
diverse perspectives on wolf ecology. Join us
on campus Nov. 29 for the two-day event.
Colorado’s wolves, and the Durango Wolf
Symposium at Fort Lewis College will provide
diverse perspectives on wolf ecology. Join us
on campus Nov. 29 for the two-day event.
Photo collections credit;History Colorado
Taxidermist, Edwin Carter, in Breckenridge,
with a wolf pelt from a kill
in Colorado Rockies
Arthur
Carhart’s
book, “The Last Stand of the Pack” (1929),
describes in grim detail the struggle to pursue
and kill the last Colorado wolves ranging in
the wild in the 1920s. Across the West, the
same predator mania continued. The frontier
had officially ended in 1890, and the last
vestiges of wilderness had to be cleansed
of their large predators, especially the
feared, gray timber wolves, which may
once have numbered in the thousands in
Colorado.
“The Last Stand of the Pack” is now back
in print, published by the University Press
of Colorado in a critical edition edited by
me and Tom Wolf. All of Carhart’s original
words are there, and we added new essays
on the eco-possibilities of wolf re-introduction.
2007 Yellowstone Park Wolf was shot and killed
as it entered Colorado
in print, published by the University Press
of Colorado in a critical edition edited by
me and Tom Wolf. All of Carhart’s original
words are there, and we added new essays
on the eco-possibilities of wolf re-introduction.
2007 Yellowstone Park Wolf was shot and killed
as it entered Colorado
HHHThe Bureau of Biological Survey claimed to have killed Colorado’s last wolf in 1935. Scholar Michael Robinson believed the date was 1945 in Conejos County. Either way, it has been decades since Colorado’s mountains have heard the full-throated howls of a wolf pack on a moonlit night, but that may be changing. Single wolves are returning to their former habitat and a breeding pair may meet in the next decade.
With raw words, sparing no blood,
Carhart described the last wolves
killed in Colorado. This was nature
writing at its best. Carhart made clear
the economic losses suffered by
ranchers and their visceral animosity
toward wolves. Always on the run,
harassing livestock because of the
depletion in game, the last wolves
had names like Old Lefty from Eagle
County, the Phantom Wolf near Fruita,
the Greenhorn Wolf south of Pueblo,
the Unaweep Wolf from Unaweep
Canyon, Big Foot at DeBeque, Old
Whitey near Trinidad and Rags the
Digger at Cathedral Bluffs in Rio
Blanco County.
Carhart described the last wolves
killed in Colorado. This was nature
writing at its best. Carhart made clear
the economic losses suffered by
ranchers and their visceral animosity
toward wolves. Always on the run,
harassing livestock because of the
depletion in game, the last wolves
had names like Old Lefty from Eagle
County, the Phantom Wolf near Fruita,
the Greenhorn Wolf south of Pueblo,
the Unaweep Wolf from Unaweep
Canyon, Big Foot at DeBeque, Old
Whitey near Trinidad and Rags the
Digger at Cathedral Bluffs in Rio
Blanco County.
James shaw holds a wolf killed in
Thatcher, Las Animas County
Colorado, eastern
Thatcher, Las Animas County
Colorado, eastern
Colorado plains; Denver Public
Library photo credit
Library photo credit
Wolves harassed
livestock because wild game populations had
dramatically
dropped. Most of Colorado’s elk had been shot
livestock because wild game populations had
dramatically
dropped. Most of Colorado’s elk had been shot
and killed by market hunters, who were paid
10 cents a pound for elk, deer and antelope.
Today’s elk herds evolved from elk transplanted
from Montana and Wyoming. The state’s elk
herds are doing fine, but there are rising fears
of chronic wasting disease. How to combat
the disease? Introduce gray wolves to cull
the weak, the young and the sick. Wolves
can help restore our Colorado ecosystems.
As a deer and elk hunter, I want wolves back.
January 2012 trailcam picture of a Wolf in Colorado
10 cents a pound for elk, deer and antelope.
Today’s elk herds evolved from elk transplanted
from Montana and Wyoming. The state’s elk
herds are doing fine, but there are rising fears
of chronic wasting disease. How to combat
the disease? Introduce gray wolves to cull
the weak, the young and the sick. Wolves
can help restore our Colorado ecosystems.
As a deer and elk hunter, I want wolves back.
January 2012 trailcam picture of a Wolf in Colorado
No one knows how wolves will fit into the
Colorado landscape, but many of us are
waiting to find out. A survey conducted
by Colorado State University found that
73 percent of Coloradans, most living on
the Front Range, support wolves in
Colorado, and 20 percent do not.
Obviously, that 20 percent includes
ranchers who have a different perspective,
but that’s all the more reason to begin a
dialogue on wolves.
Colorado landscape, but many of us are
waiting to find out. A survey conducted
by Colorado State University found that
73 percent of Coloradans, most living on
the Front Range, support wolves in
Colorado, and 20 percent do not.
Obviously, that 20 percent includes
ranchers who have a different perspective,
but that’s all the more reason to begin a
dialogue on wolves.
HHHSo if wolves are coming back to Colorado,
coming down from Yellowstone National
Park only to be killed along Interstate 70,
why not help them out? Why not
reintroduce wolves?
coming down from Yellowstone National
Park only to be killed along Interstate 70,
why not help them out? Why not
reintroduce wolves?
Three times, the Colorado Parks and
Wildlife Commission has passed
resolutions opposing reintroduction of
wolves to the state. They did it in 1982,
1989 and 2016. Perhaps it’s time to
revisit that important decision. If wolves
arrive on their own, we’ll have to live
with where they appear. If wolves are
introduced, there can be more flexibility
on where they live and certainly more
planning.
Wildlife Commission has passed
resolutions opposing reintroduction of
wolves to the state. They did it in 1982,
1989 and 2016. Perhaps it’s time to
revisit that important decision. If wolves
arrive on their own, we’ll have to live
with where they appear. If wolves are
introduced, there can be more flexibility
on where they live and certainly more
planning.
“Enchantress from the Mist,” wolf cover
art by Becky Hoyle Lukow of
Fruitland, N.M.
art by Becky Hoyle Lukow of
Fruitland, N.M.
Wolf
reintroduction
into
Colorado
will take time and
patience. Folks who would never normally
speak to each other – because they wear
different hats, different footwear, drive
different vehicles and support different
causes – will have to sit at the same table
and share their values, their thoughts, their
hopes for their families, as well as their future.
reintroduction
into
Colorado
will take time and
patience. Folks who would never normally
speak to each other – because they wear
different hats, different footwear, drive
different vehicles and support different
causes – will have to sit at the same table
and share their values, their thoughts, their
hopes for their families, as well as their future.
With 5.5 million people, Colorado is
essentially an urban state with suburban
sprawl on the Front Range and less than
250,000 people on the Western Slope
where wolves would be introduced.
Why not restore our full complement?
We’ll probably never have grizzly
bears back in Colorado. They take too
much territory and live at elevations that
we do, but wolves – I think we could adjust.
I think we could learn to accommodate
ourselves to another top-tier predator
besides ourselves. But I admit, as a
Colorado wildlife biologist told me,
“More hearts have to be won.”
essentially an urban state with suburban
sprawl on the Front Range and less than
250,000 people on the Western Slope
where wolves would be introduced.
Why not restore our full complement?
We’ll probably never have grizzly
bears back in Colorado. They take too
much territory and live at elevations that
we do, but wolves – I think we could adjust.
I think we could learn to accommodate
ourselves to another top-tier predator
besides ourselves. But I admit, as a
Colorado wildlife biologist told me,
“More hearts have to be won.”
HHHWolves are part of our Western wildlife
heritage. Learning to live again with
them in the Rocky Mountains may be
one of our most important 21st-century
lessons in ecology and humility. We
killed wolves with poisons, traps and
guns. Arthur Carhart came to realize
the pervasive power of industrialized death.
heritage. Learning to live again with
them in the Rocky Mountains may be
one of our most important 21st-century
lessons in ecology and humility. We
killed wolves with poisons, traps and
guns. Arthur Carhart came to realize
the pervasive power of industrialized death.
A year after publishing “The Last Stand
of the Pack,” Carhart questioned co-author
Stanley P. Young whether exterminating
wolves “to please squawking stockmen”
could be justified. “Isn’t it a just
consideration that the cats and wolves and
coyotes have a damn sight better basic
right to live in the hills and have use of
that part of the world as their own than the
domestic livestock of the stockmen?”
he asserted. Carhart, father of the
wilderness idea, wanted wild creatures in wild places.
of the Pack,” Carhart questioned co-author
Stanley P. Young whether exterminating
wolves “to please squawking stockmen”
could be justified. “Isn’t it a just
consideration that the cats and wolves and
coyotes have a damn sight better basic
right to live in the hills and have use of
that part of the world as their own than the
domestic livestock of the stockmen?”
he asserted. Carhart, father of the
wilderness idea, wanted wild creatures in wild places.
What would Carhart think of wolves
returning to Colorado? As a wilderness
advocate, a “wilderness prophet” in the
words of author Tom Wolf, Carhart surely
would have seen the connection between
wild landscapes and canis lupus. As a
hunter and a sportsman interested in
healthy big-game populations, he
probably could have come to learn
what Lewis and Clark understood
and what Aldo Leopold tried to teach –
that wolves have their place. I hunt
wildlife, and I agree – wolves belong.
returning to Colorado? As a wilderness
advocate, a “wilderness prophet” in the
words of author Tom Wolf, Carhart surely
would have seen the connection between
wild landscapes and canis lupus. As a
hunter and a sportsman interested in
healthy big-game populations, he
probably could have come to learn
what Lewis and Clark understood
and what Aldo Leopold tried to teach –
that wolves have their place. I hunt
wildlife, and I agree – wolves belong.
At the Durango Wolf Symposium,
guest speakers will include Michael
Philips, executive director of the Turner
Endangered Species Fund, and Carter
Niemeyer, a retired U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Services employee who
personally went to Canada to bring
wolves to Yellowstone. We’ll host other
experts, including local rancher Tom
Compton, who believes, “The
development of sound public policy
requires careful consideration of all
aspects of an issue, paying particular
attention to the potential for unintended
consequences.”
guest speakers will include Michael
Philips, executive director of the Turner
Endangered Species Fund, and Carter
Niemeyer, a retired U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Services employee who
personally went to Canada to bring
wolves to Yellowstone. We’ll host other
experts, including local rancher Tom
Compton, who believes, “The
development of sound public policy
requires careful consideration of all
aspects of an issue, paying particular
attention to the potential for unintended
consequences.”
Northern Rockies rancher Joe Engelhart
manages a large cattle operation where
there are active predators. He will give
a talk called “Ranching with Wolves
and Other Predators: A True-Life Story.”
“There is nothing to be learned or gained
from a dead wolf, but we can learn a great
deal about sharing the landscape with
them by first being willing to understand
them,” he says.
manages a large cattle operation where
there are active predators. He will give
a talk called “Ranching with Wolves
and Other Predators: A True-Life Story.”
“There is nothing to be learned or gained
from a dead wolf, but we can learn a great
deal about sharing the landscape with
them by first being willing to understand
them,” he says.
University of Colorado-Denver professor
Diana Tomback will speak at the symposia.
She argues, “There are compelling practical
reasons for restoring the gray wolf to Colorado.
The ‘balance of nature’ is not just a poetic
catch phrase; it refers to a real ecological state.”
Diana Tomback will speak at the symposia.
She argues, “There are compelling practical
reasons for restoring the gray wolf to Colorado.
The ‘balance of nature’ is not just a poetic
catch phrase; it refers to a real ecological state.”
HHHI tell my FLC students that wolves are
coming home to Colorado. Hopefully, in
my lifetime; certainly, in theirs. We need
them back. We need to hear their howls
on moonlit nights deep in the Weminuche
Wilderness or high on the Flattops on
Colorado’s Western Slope. Gray shadows
should leave paw prints in snow beneath
dark trees. Maybe wolves will even
return to their old haunts where Carhart
wrote about them in Unaweep Canyon,
on the Book Cliffs, along Huerfano
Creek, beside the Purgatoire.
coming home to Colorado. Hopefully, in
my lifetime; certainly, in theirs. We need
them back. We need to hear their howls
on moonlit nights deep in the Weminuche
Wilderness or high on the Flattops on
Colorado’s Western Slope. Gray shadows
should leave paw prints in snow beneath
dark trees. Maybe wolves will even
return to their old haunts where Carhart
wrote about them in Unaweep Canyon,
on the Book Cliffs, along Huerfano
Creek, beside the Purgatoire.
Wolf recovery in Colorado will be a grand
experiment. I wish Arthur Carhart were
alive to write about it. He’d love to record
the cycle of ecological change and humans
foregoing hubris for humility. “The Last
Stand of the Pack” is a valuable historical
account. Now in the 21st century, we
should turn a new page and allow a top-tier
predator to bring balance back to our ecosystems.
experiment. I wish Arthur Carhart were
alive to write about it. He’d love to record
the cycle of ecological change and humans
foregoing hubris for humility. “The Last
Stand of the Pack” is a valuable historical
account. Now in the 21st century, we
should turn a new page and allow a top-tier
predator to bring balance back to our ecosystems.
Andrew Gulliford is a professor of historyand environmental studies at Fort Lewis College. Reach him at andy@agulliford.com.
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