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By Tessa McDonnell

Whether you live in an urban or rural area, connecting with nature teaches us that we can coexist with unlikely beings in unlikely places. Although man’s relationship with wildlife has been a historic element of life in the West, we have witnessed a consistent severing of our connection to nature. Man’s eagerness to eradicate wolves is a major element in this divide.

Wildlife is fundamentally oriented toward survival, persevering only when nature intends. Humans change this dynamic. We are fickle and desire convenience, consequently leading us to incentivize and repeat the horrors of 1900s predator eradication.

While the fight for carnivore conservation may have increased understanding on the vital role wolves play in ecosystem processes, the reality is that targeted killings are still occurring in neighboring Rocky Mountain states. In just a two-month span, 20 Yellowstone gray wolves were shot and killed by hunters. After leaving the park’s protected boundaries, 15 wolves were killed on Montana’s northern border, and five within Idaho and Wyoming. The unfettered slaughter has even resulted in the functional extinction of the Phantom Lake Pack.

Under new rules, Montana permits the use of bait to lure wolves across protected boundaries and the use of leghold traps. In 85% of Wyoming, wolves are classified as shoot-on-sight predators. Additionally, Wyoming allows hunters to use night vision, snares, and exhaust wolves using ATVs and snowmobiles. As these laws make clear, state wildlife management has ignored an ecological need for wolves and the importance of each individual wolf in comprising social structure. However, Colorado’s wildlife management is not far behind.

Recently, Colorado confirmed the first act of wolf depredation on livestock in over 70 years. The calf was killed near Walden, and has initiated a call for lethal action. Although the wolf is not associated with the 2023 reintroduction plan, members of Colorado Cattlemen’s Association are already urging officials to consider implementing the removal of problem wolves or to open a hunting season.

The continued killing of wolves is perpetuated by special interest groups and is symptomatic of carnivore mismanagement among the states. By resorting to the lethal removal of gray wolves, via hunters or officials, we are taught that ignorance of coexistence is acceptable. Wolf hunting seasons are driven by bloodsport and trophies, are ethically indefensible and not supported by science.

It is understood that a funding source should be implemented to compensate ranchers for when depredation on livestock does occur. However, ranchers and conservationists can both agree that livestock not being killed in the first place is preferable. Funding should be directed toward aiding ranchers in preventing wolf depredation. Livestock guardian dogs are particularly effective when it comes to the protection of smaller livestock. In addition, Oregon studies have shown that nonlethal alternatives such as fladry, electric fences, and motion-detecting repellents are an effective barrier to wolves.

While the passage of Proposition 114 has moved Coloradans to reintroduce gray wolves west of the Continental Divide, its passage was done by a narrow and contentious margin. The death of livestock following the reintroduction of wolves into the state is not inevitable. Yet throughout the Northern Rockies, there remains little awareness concerning the ignorance of coexistence. As proud outdoorsmen and women, Coloradans should utilize this opportunity as an example of implementing ethical, and science-based wildlife management.

To halt the unreasonable killing of wolves across the Rocky Mountains, it is necessary to restore the federal protection of gray wolves within the Northern Rockies through the Endangered Species Act. To reduce future deaths of livestock, ranchers should be required to eliminate the carcasses of livestock that die off for reasons such as noxious weeds, disease, birth complications, etc. They should also be required to utilize tactics that reduce wolf encounters.

While ranchers and farmers may argue that the burden is placed on them to prevent wolf depredation, the land they have benefited from for generations was home to wolves before it was home to livestock. Coexistence is an ever-evolving state which requires balanced and cooperative solutions.

To learn more about protecting North American gray wolves, you can find the information online at http://www.projectcoyote.org and help promote carnivore coexistence at https://projectcoyote.org/programs/carnivore-conservation-coexistence/protecting-americas-wolves/.

Tessa McDonnell holds a B.S. in fish, wildlife, and conservation biology and a B.A. in journalism and media communications. She enjoys backpacking and photographing Colorado in her free time. She is a Fort Collins resident.

via Tessa McDonnell: Enhancing coexistence with wolves | Reporter-Herald Opinion