The Plan to Restore Colorado,s Gray Wolf

The Plan to Restore Colorado,s Gray Wolf

At this moment, the people of Colorado stand ready to achieve a breakthrough decades in the making — to reintroduce the gray wolf into the wilderness of the state's Western Slope. This will be a landmark advance in the cause of conservation. It will be a watershed event in restoring the state's natural balance. It will be an accomplishment of unique symbolic power.

The path to a legislative victory is clear. Public opinion is strongly on our side. But to start, we need to gather 200,000 signatures to place a wolf restoration measure on the ballot. To do so within the brief window of time available, the Rocky Mountain Wolf Action Fund must raise $1 million now — and we fully intend to do so.

www.WolfActionFund.com

Of A Majestic Species Returned And A Precious Balance Restored

The case for restoring the gray wolf in Colorado is overwhelmingly compelling. Wolves were long part of our natural landscape, Western heritage, and way of life. Their elimination in the mid-1940s left a void in the Colorado wilderness. It also created a set of damaging imbalances in the natural world.

Reintroducing the wolf will help reestablish balance, yielding a cascade of positive results:

Healthier elk and deer populations - less susceptible to Chronic Wasting Disease and less prone to cause damage through overgrazing.

Cleaner and more vital rivers and streams - as elk and deer return to natural grazing patterns, foraging along banks is controlled, aspens, willows, and cottonwoods regrow, and erosion is reduced.

Improved habitat for trout, otters, and muskrats - as trees thrive, waters are shaded and cooled, and beavers feed on regrown trees and create deeper pools.

Greater drought resilience across the ecosystem - as larger beaver ponds shield against fluctuations in snowmelt.

Impact on coyote populations - allowing small mammals to return in appropriate numbers —mammals that serve, in turn, as prey for hawks and other species.

Support for scavengers such as bears, eagles, ravens, and magpies - all of which feed on wolf kills.

In short, a healthy population of carnivores at the top of the food chain means greater biodiversity and a vibrant ecosystem overall. The science of the matter is clear. So are the invaluable lessons learned from the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park in 1995—a move that has had a tremendous positive impact on the park’s forests, has broadened the range of species thriving there, and has reshaped the landscape for the better.

The goal of restoring balance and health to Colorado’s wild lands is especially pressing today, because of the imminent threats posed by climate change. Every step we can take toward balance helps increase the resilience of our ecosystems to new extremes in weather and to new stresses impossible to predict.

Clearly, the fight for the wolf is a fight worth winning.

OUR VISION

www.WolfActionFund.com

www.WolfActionFund.com

For A Viable Population of Gray Wolves in 10 Years

The Rocky Mountain Wolf Action Fund, the sister organization of the Rocky Mountain Wolf Project, backs a plan for the restoration of the wolf that would begin with the release of about 30 gray wolves to the Western Slope of Colorado as early as the summer of 2022.

There, they will be free to range over some 17 million acres of public land and join wild populations of 280,000 elk and 420,000 deer—an ample natural food supply. Over the course of roughly a decade, the number of wolves will increase to 100-200.

Restoring the wolf will not only represent a vital step toward keeping Colorado wild, it will also do something more: reconnect the entire North American wolf population from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan through Canada and Alaska, down the Rocky Mountains into Mexico. Nowhere else in the world exists the opportunity to reestablish a major carnivore at this intercontinental scale.

Our goal is to reintroduce the gray wolf, but to do it well, learning lessons from other states and drawing on the deep value Coloradans place on wildlife to make restoration fully successful. This would include compensating ranchers and woolgrowers for losses due to wolves, which are likely to be quite limited. In addition, Colorado State University aims to establish a center of excellence for human/carnivore interactions, which will be an invaluable asset to us in this work.

OUR PLAN

www.WolfActionFund.com

To Successful Legislation

The mission of the Rocky Mountain Wolf Action Fund is to pass legislation that will mandate the restoration of wolves in Colorado. This represents a simple, direct, and certain path for achieving our goal—and for doing so in the span of a year-and-a-half.

For the last three decades, wildlife biologists, impassioned environmentalists, and educated citizens have spoken out for the gray wolf and its reintroduction. For six years now, the Rocky Mountain Wolf Project has carried forward a mission of education, building broad support. Now is the time for the Rocky Mountain Wolf Action Fund to put the matter to a vote. By passing a referendum calling for the reintroduction of the wolf, we will provide our political leaders the mandate they need for action. In fact, we will require that action. Given the current protected status of the wolf and the decades-long failure of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to move forward, this is the only way to achieve our end.

The first step is to place our measure on the ballot. That requires securing roughly 200,000 signatures in the space of the next short weeks. Volunteer effort is a powerful force, but right now we need professionals to reach our goal. The budget to fund the required work is $1 million.

Once our measure is on the ballot, we will launch a second statewide campaign to secure a victory in the 2020 general election.

The good news is that we are fighting a winning cause. The current sitting governor and many state legislators favor restoration. An array of the nation’s most influential environmental groups is aligned steadfastly behind us. And so is public opinion.

In fact, the polling data is overwhelmingly positive. Two-thirds of Colorado voters favor “restoring wolves in Western Colorado,” and just 15% oppose the idea. This support is broad and widespread. It transcends gender, age group, ethnicity, and party affiliation. It spans every region of the state, including 61% percent of Western Slope Coloradans. It includes a preponderance of households deriving their income from ranching and farming, and a large majority (68%) of households with hunters.

Furthermore, this conceptual support extends to voting “Yes” on specific resolution language.

We find ourselves at a point of historic opportunity. We can make our vision of restoring the wolf a reality. We can also set a precedent of enormous importance—achieving a transformational environmental goal by general referendum. In short, we have the chance to show direct democracy working at its best.

OUR PATH FORWARD

www.WolfActionFund.com

And The Part We Need You To Play

The situation is simple. The only thing standing between the present moment and a population of wolves at home in the wilds of Colorado is 18 months and a targeted investment of resources. We need $1 million to collect the signatures required to get wolves on the ballot in the 2020 general election and put this decision before the voters— and we need that money now.

Why should you help?

First, if you believe in a wild Colorado and recognize the part the wolf must play in returning balance to our natural world.

Second, if the symbolic power of this majestic animal restored to its natural place moves your heart.

Third, if the idea of simple, direct, and certain approach to achieve a great goal appeals to you.

Because that is the approach we have. A simple total of signatures will allow a majority of Coloradans to directly decide the future of the wolf, and when they do, we will have a certain guarantee that the gray wolf will soon be part of our landscape again.

All of us at the Rocky Mountain Wolf Action Fund are deeply grateful for the generous support that has brought us so far. Now, to cross the finish line, we ask that you please commit generously to our cause today and energize your friends to do the same.

To learn more about the plan to reintroduce wolves to Colorado visit www.WolfActionFund.com

HELP US GET WOLF REINTRODUCTION ON THE BALLOT AND RESTORE COLORADO’S NATURAL BALANCE — WE OWE IT TO OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN.

Paid for by the Rocky Mountain Wolf Action Fund

OUR CHALLENGE