It’s official. Colorado’s unnatural, ill-informed wolf reintroduction puts these majestic creatures in harm’s way. Because of Colorado, wolves will die.

“Wyoming Ranchers Prepared To ‘Shoot On Sight’ If Colorado Wolves Cross State Line,” says a Dec. 28 headline in the Cowboy State Daily in Cheyenne.

The subhead explains: “Now that Colorado has wolves – some of which have a history of killing cattle in Oregon – Wyoming ranchers are banking on Wyoming’s ‘shoot on sight’ policy for whenever those wolves cross over.”

Wolves don’t use Google Maps. Oblivious to state lines, it is a matter of time before Colorado’s commandeered wolves venture into Wyoming and die.

Wyoming residents genuinely understand and value wolves and other wildlife. They value farmers and ranchers and the livestock investments that support families and communities.

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Colorado is unsuitable for packs of wolves, especially those trapped and taken from their homes. Sure, wolves naturally roamed the Western Slope generations ago – back when the region was much less settled.

Those who have known the Western Slope for decades have seen an onslaught of human migration substantially changed the region. Mining and agricultural villages have become popular among people fleeing the crime and homeless encampments that make large cities undesirable.

Aspen, Vail, Telluride, Steamboat Springs and other resort communities have become playgrounds for the wealthy from around the globe. Urban migration into Colorado will continue, making the state more inhospitable to wolves.

“Colorado’s population is projected to grow from 5.6 million people in 2017 to 8.7 million in 2050, driven overwhelmingly by newcomers moving to the state,” explains the Bell Policy Center’s demographic report.

Native tribes and at least three states – Idaho, Wyoming and Montana – refused to help Colorado transplant wolves. They feared their wolves wouldn’t be safe in an urbanizing environment.

After begging around the country, Colorado convinced Oregon to give us 10 wolves. Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials trapped five and let them loose in Colorado just before Christmas. The state plans to introduce more wolves in an ongoing campaign to establish a robust population.

Urban dwellers along the Front Range imposed reintroduction by passing Proposition 114 in 2020. It was a middle finger to Colorado’s rural residents, who may lose pets, wildlife, and peace of mind.

Among the top advocates for reintroduction was animal rights activist and former New Yorker Ellen Kessler – a woman who openly loathes rural Colorado. Appointed by Gov. Jared Polis to the State Board of Veterinary Medicine in 2020, Kessler stepped down after calling ranchers “lazy” and “nasty” for not supporting wolves.

Kessler blasted 4-H – a revered institution in farm and ranch country.

“4-H clubs don’t teach children that animal lives matter,” she wrote on Facebook, before posting a crackpot article that accuses dairy farmers of sexually abusing their cows.

Last summer, authorities arrested this anti-rural champion of animal life – the Colorado Coordinator for National Animal Rights Day – on 13 counts of animal cruelty. She was convicted under a plea deal.

We hope our new wolves live long and peaceful lives, but the chances are slim. More likely, this irresponsible manipulation of wildlife will symbolize the lunacy of urban majorities imposing their will on people and places they don’t understand.

Colorado Springs Gazette Editorial Board