By Rob Edward
The Trump administration’s removal of federal protections for gray wolves highlights the importance of Colorado’s upcoming vote on Proposition 114. Coloradans are poised to take politicians out of the picture by voting for the measure. Prop 114 directs the state to develop and implement, with public input, a science-based plan to safely reintroduce about 40 wolves to 17 million acres of public land. Prop 114 respects ranchers and restores Colorado’s natural balance for this and future generations.
In Colorado, the wolf has been functionally extinct for nearly 80 years and remains so today. More than ever, we need wolves to restore the balance in our mountain ecosystems. We need to reintroduce wolves to improve the health of our elk and deer herds, which are suffering from a high prevalence of the always-fatal chronic wasting disease.
Under Colorado law, gray wolves remain endangered. That legal status, along with a state-led restoration effort, has become critically important.
Rob Edward is President, Rocky Mountain Wolf Action Fund
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