If you’ve read more than one or two of my columns, you’ve likely seen me brag about my time at the University of Michigan. I’m about as much of a wolverine as you can be. I was born in the U of M hospital, my dad was a dean there for decades, and I have my BA, MA, and Ph.D. from that fine university. Growing up I was able to go to pretty much every home football game, with great seats (thanks, Dad!). During my college years, I was in ROTC, and commanded the color guard that raised the American flag at every game. I can’t find the words to explain how magical it is to be on that field, in front of 115,000 cheering fans, raising the flag for Ohio State and other games I spent many remarkable days at Michigan.

So, I was very excited when I saw the Colorado Politics story titled “Legislators push to Reintroduce Wolverines in Colorado.

I was briefly confused.

As it turns out, the story is about the actual animal known as a wolverine. They were indigenous to Colorado until the early 1900s, when trappers wiped the species out in the Centennial State for pelts turned into hats or clothing. And so, for more than 100 years, the wolverine has been absent from our wildlands. Wolverines are a notoriously challenging animal to deal with. I once heard a zookeeper state wolverines only attack if you make them mad, but they get mad if you look at them – grouchy animals to be sure.

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They are also critically endangered, with perhaps 300 to 400 remaining in the lower 48. For hundreds of years wolverines were an important part of the Colorado countryside, much like wolves.

And therein may well be the problem.

Colorado recently saw the reintroduction of wolves following a ballot measure that saw the urban parts of Colorado vote in favor of wolf reintroduction, while the more rural parts (in other words, where the wolves would actually go) voted against it.

Last December, I wrote on the wolf issue, and I noted it isn’t as simple an issue at it might seem. Wolves do kill domesticated animals on the property of ranchers and farmers. Though those folks can seek reimbursement for any livestock losses, the wolves have also killed some ranch-working dogs, which might tug at your heartstrings more than a cow. It’s a tough and touchy issue, but I come down on the side of reintroducing animals we humans drove to extinction in our state.

Unfortunately, the wolf program roll out was not smooth, and many on the anti-wolf side of things can legitimately express concerns about the wolverines, given they now have little or no faith in the state’s wildlife officials, after the wolf program started so roughly.

The solution, it seems to this wolverine (the human kind) would be to move forward with the bill that seeks authorization to bring some of the critters to Colorado, but ensure the implementing of the new law, if passed that is, is far smoother and far more transparent than things were when the wolves arrived.

Wolverines are not exactly pack animals and they are not likely to kill many domestic livestock on Colorado ranches. They like to be alone and far from people. But the kill count, though small, will likely not be zero. So, the legislation, Senate Bill 171, includes language to allow for reimbursement of any livestock taken by the wolverines. And the bill requires the state to study and then report on the impact of the wolverines introduced to our wildlands, which is also a good idea.

Ironically, the state of my birth, Michigan, is known as the Wolverine State regardless of the fact wolverines have never actually lived in that lovely state. My wonderful football team (did I mention they are national champions?) is named after the wolverines, which again, do not live in Michigan.

But they can live again in Colorado, and that’s a good thing. Biodiversity serves ends both expected and unexpected. The California Coastal Yew tree, for example, was long considered a scrap tree that got in the way of logging the “good” trees that grew in coastal forests of the western United States. They were often ripped from the ground and burned, until a study in 1963 showed the bark of the Coastal Yew was very rich in the chemical paclitaxel, which turns out to be the key element in the anti-cancer drug Taxol, which today is a vital tool for oncologists in the battle against ovarian, breast and lung cancers.  All from a tree many loggers wanted to wipe off the surface of the planet. Had they succeeded, and the Yew became extinct, our cancer doctors today would have to do without a vital tool in battling that vile illness.

I’m not saying wolverines coming back to Colorado will result in cancer cures, but I am saying we just don’t know what a more complete and robust ecosystem might do. Who knows, maybe wolverines will love the taste of bark beetles. Or maybe reintroducing wolverines will create a niche in the ecosystem where something totally unexpected takes place.

I get the ranchers and the farmers objections, though I would expect the objections to wolverines to be less than for the wolves. But as long as we have a reasonable way to reimburse ranchers and farmers, I believe the risk is worth the reward, even if the only reward is the protecting of a truly endangered animal. I hope the bill passes.

Stay tuned.

Hal Bidlack is a retired professor of political science and a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who taught more than 17 years at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.