Defenders+of+Wildlife

Stakeholder: Defenders of Wildlife
Shelby 11/18/08 WHO AM I? WHAT IS MY OPINION, POSITION AND RATIONAL? Wolves need to be reintroduced into Colorado. Wolves are beautiful, and they will attract many more visitors to the state. Wolves in Colorado will also give people like me, who study wolves, the opportunity to study their behavior in an environment that we are used to, and make it so we don’t have to travel very far to study them. The last and most important reason defenders would like wolves back in Colorado is they play an important role in balancing out the population of the animals they prey on. The environment needs them. Without wolves, there isn’t any one to get rid of some of the elk population when it gets too high, and with too many elk, the elk kill off most of the willow. Then there is not much for the birds to eat and they eat all the rest of the willow, and all the elk and all the birds die because all the willow is gone. Even though many environments can adapt to wolves leaving, in the time that it takes them to adapt, they have already lost the lives of a lot of the animals and plants. WHO ARE MY ALLIES, AND WHAT ARE THEIR OPINIONS? Other stakeholders that share some or most of my ideas about the wolves being reintroduced into Colorado include animal rights activists, environmentalists, national park representatives, and possibly recreationalists. Animal rights activists want all animals to have the right to be in any place where that species belongs. Environmentalists just want whatever is best for the environment and the environment has a better atmosphere in general with the wolves here to keep the environment at a sustainable equilibrium. National park representatives want the nation park to stay preserved and brining wolves back into Colorado is certainly one of the best ways to keep the environment preserved. Recreationalists just love the outdoors, and want them to stay pretty. Without major predators like wolves, we could lose some of our beautiful species. WHO DO I DISSAGREE WITH? WHAT ARE MY COMPROMISES? Considering the conflict that would occur between wolves and livestock, I have come up with a fine wolf management plan that is a compromise with the ranchers. If wolves were reintroduced into Colorado, I would put a GPS tracking system on most of the wolves so we could tell if the wolves are attacking the livestock. If they are, then we will pay the ranchers for the livestock that is lost. We would also pay for equipment that will keep the wolves and the livestock isolated, such as fencing. We also try to help ranchers understand that there are nonlethal ways to keep wolves from attacking livestock. This is a similar plan to what other defenders of wildlife are looking at; you can see their ideas on __ [|www.defenders.org]. __ Another stakeholder that might have some problems with wolves being reintroduced into Colorado are Estes Park residents. I could imagine them fearing wolves in the event of wolves attacking/eating their pets, or getting into their houses for food. To solve this problem I would tell them that wolf attacks are extremely rare. I’m sure if the people living in Estes Park could learn more about wolves, they wouldn’t be as scared. I could also tell them about ways to prevent wolf attacks or damage. This could be as simple as telling them to buy super – seal trash cans so the wolves could not smell the food. IDEAL MEDIATION RESULT I think that these compromises find a fair balance that will be agreeable with all the other stakeholders. It allows the wolves to live in the land that belonged to them from the beginning, and with these mediations, the ranchers won’t lose any money, even if they do lose some livestock, and the Estes Park residents won’t have to worry about damage due to wolves. CONCLUSION In conclusion, wolves really should come back, and not just because people think they could be reintroduced, but because we know they need to be. Like I said in the beginning, the wolves will bring the start of a healthier environment with them. They will bring the ecosystem into a relaxed, admirable balance. So we should take advantage of this opportunity, and once again have this beautiful species living in our beautiful state.

Marley 11/6/08 As defenders of wildlife, we believe that all wolves should live in the wild and be a part of nature’s balance. Wolves should be here because the wolf is a symbol of wild nature. Farmers, ranchers and hunters see wolves as a big problem because wolves kill off all elk, livestock and pets. Farmers, ranchers and hunters worked really hard to try to remove wolves from their habitat. The National Wetlands Awards encourage people to understand that it’s important for wolves and other wildlife to be in their natural habitat. The Greater Yellowstone and Northern Rockies region has the biggest population of wolves in America besides Alaska. There are more than 1,500 wolves inhabiting that area again. The Defenders of Wildlife have helped the recovery of wolves in Yellowstone, and they would like to help the recovery of wolves in Colorado ([|http://www.defenders.org]). Wolves once lived in the Southern Rockies of Colorado, but the last Colorado wolf was killed in 1945. Defenders of wildlife are helping to restore wolves in Colorado by protecting wolves in Wyoming so the wolves can naturally migrate into Colorado. The Southern Rockies Wolf Recovery Project is working with the Defenders of Wildlife to reintroduce wolves (http://www.defenders.org/programs and policy/wildlife conservation/imperiled species/wolves/wolf recovery efforts/southern rockieswolves/index.php). WildEarth Guardians believe that by reintroducing wolves into Colorado it will help thin overpopulated elk herds, which would then lead to more young aspen. Ron Edward of WildEarth Guardians says, “We believe that the Southern Rockies needs wolves, and wolves definitely need the Southern Rockies.” Since there will not be enough wolves wandering into Colorado to establish a population, people need to help reintroduce wolves. Biologists said that by not having wolves around the elk herds, they are too large and causing damage by eating aspen and other vegetation. Managers of Rocky Mountain National Park are going to use hunters to balance out the population of elk. In Yellowstone National Park they are using wolves to balance out the population of elk which is a more sustainable way (http://sinapupr.blogspot.com/2006/03/proverbial-lone-wolf-spotted-in.html). This table shows the estimated wolf population for the year of 1997-1998. Wolves usually live in northern habitats without a lot of human population. In the lower 48 states there are a lot of people, but the Defenders of Wildlife and other groups want to reintroduce wolves into mountainous regions which is their natural habitat. The countries with the higher population of wolves are mountainous countries.
 * Position**
 * Rational /Evidence**

Country Number of Wolves Canada 60,000 Russia 30,000-40,000 Alaska 6,000-8,000 China 6,000 USA (lower 48) 2,700 Spain 2,000 Italy 400-500 Greece 200-300 Egypt 25 France 7-15 Lebanon 10 Austria 5 ([|http://www.kidsplanet.org]). Wolf recovery projects go better when the community gets involved and people learn about living with wolves. Out of all the animals that need to be reintroduced, the gray wolf is the most endangered species. The future of gray wolves looks promising in the upper Midwest. Humans started to build houses and farms where the wolves once lived causing them to go into wilderness areas. By building their homes they pushed the wolves into areas where nobody lives, but they went out and killed the wolves because they were afraid the wolves would eat their livestock, children and pets. As wolves are being reintroduced, farmers and ranchers fear the loss of cattle and dogs. Defenders in Montana and Idaho are willing to compromise and pay any farmer or rancher who looks after a den on their land. In addition, farmers will be paid for any cattle or dogs that are killed by a wolf ([|http://www.ationbioscience.org]). In this mediation I will have to do the same thing and compromise with cattle ranchers. My compromise is ranchers will get paid the value of any cow that is killed by a wolf. Money will come from fund raisers and donations to Defender of Wildlife. My allies in this mediation are animal rights activist. The similarities I have with this stakeholder are we both want to protect wolves in order to keep a well balanced ecosystem. The defenders of wild life and animal rights activist believe that all animals have rights and need to be defended from the people who want to take away their rights. My ideal wolf management plan is if we bring wolves into Colorado we would put them where there aren’t any ranchers, farmers or homes so that the wolves couldn’t kill any livestock or pets. In order for this to happen ranchers and farmers wouldn’t build any farms, ranches or homes where we put the wolves. We will limit the number of wolves brought into the area. Any hunter or rancher that kills a wolf that is inside the park and not attacking livestock shall be fined.
 * Allies and Compromise**
 * Ideal Mediation**

Defenders of Wildlife Sophie 11/15/08

I am a defender of wildlife. Defenders think that wolves deserve to live in Colorado and in the Rockies. Ecologically they are supposed to live in this area. After a bounty was placed on these animals head there were no wolves left. Now the defenders are trying to help these majestic animals survive once again in more places. They should be in their natural habitat. Wolves are a more complicated topic than it needed to be. The last bounty wolf was killed in 1945. After awhile everything began to go wrong with all the elk overpopulating and the willows dying. Once people realized this they began to think again about not having wolves. Fourteen wolves got reintroduced in 1995 after the cycle was ruined. There are conflicts between many stakeholders including animal rights activists, private hunters, and recreationalists, Estes Park residents, hunting guides, tourism companies, national park representatives, environmentalists and cattle / sheep ranchers. Since I’m a defender of wildlife I think that we should let wolves be. When European settlers came 250,000 wolves perished. Around the 1900’s there were 80,000 wolves killed in the bounty. Defenders are trying to restore wolves in Colorado. In 2000 they sent a petition to The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The petition included why wolves should be reintroduced to the Southern Rockies. They said it had plenty of good prey. We said to put wolves in the Southern Rockies on the endangered species list. It also said that wolves are supposed to live there, it was their original home. There are many good things that would make a wolf survive in the Rockies. Scientists believe that they should be reintroducing because there is a lot of prey and it has a lot of open space. Rocky Mountain National Park has an elk problem in about the 1990’s. Elk now overgraze in the area. They think that it would be perfect to bring wolves into Colorado to repair the problem. They have several projects that they are working on. World Wide Wolf project helps teach kids about wolves as well as other animals all around which you can find on www.kidsplant.org. People who support for defenders of wildlife are working on Southern Wolf Recovery Project. Defenders want this topic to stay on the spotlight in public to get more support. My stakeholder is aware that sometimes some livestock would die. This wouldn’t be a giant issue to some people but ranchers ‘yes it would’. When one cattle dies and the others are scared they lose weight and it costs money. Defenders are working to find a way to keep wolves from getting the livestock without killing the wolves of course. The Bailey Wildlife Foundation is teaching ranchers tolerance about wolves. Supporters are teaching the ranchers that wolves are best for the ecosystem. The goal is to get people to want to reintroduce the wolves in this place, not force them to. Wolves help this ecosystem. Without wolves everything overpopulates. Wolves kill the ill and old elk. Hunters kill big strong elk. In the movie Never Cry Wolf, the scientist finds out that the wolves are killing the caribou with weak bones and bad diseases. It makes it so the people can know that they are killing a good elk. One of the only threats to wolves is humans. Wolves rarely attack livestock and it is even rarer for them to attack a human. Humans are very worried about wolves going into this territory but if you don’t cause any problems they will stay out. Again going back to the Bailey Wildlife Foundation this is part of what it is about. People are scared because they don’t know about wolves. They don’t want wolves because they are afraid of accidents. People think that they will get in the way. Most of the other stakeholders want wolves. Animal rights activists want wolves because they come in naturally which is similar to our position. We can’t turn them down because it would cause major problems. They were here before the bounty, when people killed wolves cruelly to get money, so they must have a purpose. Environmentalists know that wolves are good for the world and the ecosystem. The tourism company would love wolves. Companies would start getting more money from this major attraction. Recreationalists would love to see the wolves while going on a nice hike or mountain biking. This would mean that national park representatives would get more people. We would have to convince Estes Park residents that wolves should come. Hunters are caught because they don’t know if they will be able to hunt elk anymore. Most people would love to give wolves a try so everyone should be open to try it. At this mediation we will include the benefits of having wolves. This means talking about the ecosystem, how they live here, and all of the organizations that help wolves and teach people how to help. Some of the arguments we will have to deal with include paying for hurt livestock. When we talk we will be speaking for the wolves, professional defenders and the way that nature goes. Overall we want wolves. After talking to other stakeholders I came to this conclusion. Most of people are willing to give it a try. Ranchers don’t want them because of their animals. I think that we should bring a few wolves into the Southern Rockies and see how it goes. If it doesn’t work out then they get their way. If ranchers are worried about all of the cattle they should learn to keep calm when they see a wolf. Hunters are competing with wolves. They have to remember that wolves kill the old and sick. That means there will be no problem determining whether it is a good elk or not. All of the educators want to teach people about wolves and how they are good. If it does go well we should continue introducing wolves throughout the Rockies. We should try to make the wolf population as strong as before the bounty started. This task is hard but with the pride of our stakeholder and the courage of wolves we will succeed.
 * Position**
 * Evidence and Rationale**
 * Allies**
 * Ideal Mediation**
 * Result/ Conclusion**

By Lily R.M. 11/07/08

I am a Defender of Wildlife and I want the wolves back in Colorado for several reasons. First, I believe that all animals have a right to exist, and this beautiful species of animals must be preserved. Under the Endangered Species Act, gray wolves are listed on the endangered list in the lower 48 states (www.defenders.org/wildlifeandhabitat). Secondly, a variety of animals is necessary to maintain a healthy ecosystem. Several articles have shown that wolves keep the animal and plant ecosystems in balance (Olinger, 4/06, Crowl, 06, Kohler, 06). Rationale and Evidence Due to the lack of wolves in Colorado, the elk population increased more than usual. Since the number of elk went significantly up, the number of willow and aspen declined in response. The decrease in the willows and the aspen have also negatively affected the beaver population, because they need the shrubs to make their dams and also for food. The song birds also have suffered due to the lack of food. The elk themselves are beginning to have difficulty in survival from their over population and shortage of their food supply. So in other words, the reduction in the wolf population is disturbing the ecosystem and endangering other plants and animal species. My allies are the Tourism Company, National Park Rep, and Animal Right Activist. Some people who are undecided are the Environmentalist, Estes Park Resident and National Park Rep. Our beliefs are that wildlife should be protected and available for the public to see when on a hike or a walk in the Rockies. We also want the ecosystem to be balanced by natural methods. Compromises Stakeholders who are against the re-introduction of wolves into the environment are ranchers and farmers who may lose livestock to the wolves. I, as a Defender of Wildlife, would like to discuss with this group a re-evaluation of their views. First of all, I would inform the ranchers and the farmers that wolf kills are one of the lowest causes for livestock losses in general. According to a report by the National Agriculture Statistics Service, 0.11% of all cattle losses were due to wolf predation in 2005. In comparison, an average of 90% of livestock losses were due to non-predator related causes, such as health problems and diseases (www. Defenders.org- frequently asked questions). I would also tell the ranchers that restoring the wolf population is a more natural way to restore the ecosystem and more effective than killing thousands of elk or starting birth control for elk. Statistics offer little consolation, however, to those who suffer losses. Some compromises that I suggest for the farmers and ranchers, Cattle/Sheep Rancher, Hunting Guide, Private Hunter and Tourism Company include compensation for livestock that were lost to wolves or the construction of electric fences to protect their livestock from predators. Ideal Mediation Result My ideal wolf management plan is like The Bailey Wildlife Foundation Wolf Compensation Trust. This plan offers money to private landholders for supporting hurt or endangered animals. The trust is used to repay ranchers in the United States northern Rockies for all damage that was done by the wolves (Bailey Wildlife Foundation). I like this plan because it pays full compensation for calves and lambs for confirmed livestock kills by wolves and grizzly bears. Also, it pays 50% of the market value of animals killed without any proof that a wolf killed it. I also like this plan because many types of animals are covered including sheep, cattle, horses, mules, goats, llamas, donkeys, pigs, chickens, geese, turkeys, herding dogs and livestock guarding dogs. In an e-mail conversation with Mrs. Balch – Burnett, she states: “Defenders established this conservation fund to encourage ranchers to use non-lethal methods of wolf control. This fund supports ranchers and wildlife managers in using livestock guarding dogs, flagging, fencing, livestock relocation, range riders to patrol grazing lands, and other innovative tools to prevent wolf-livestock conflicts. These are practical, science-based methods that have been successful in the past. Also, this fund helps to eliminate a major factor in political opposition to wolf recovery – it shifts the economic burden of wolf recovery from livestock producers to those who support wolf reintroduction.” Therefore, I think the wolves should come back and bring back with them the natural balance of nature. I think that two parties can reach a settlement in this issue.
 * Position**
 * Allies**
 * Compromises**
 * Conclusion**

Defenders of the Wildlife 11/6/08 Spencer

Are you afraid of big, bad, wolves? My name is Dr. Jimmy Wild and I represent defenders of the wildlife and believe that wolf should be left alone to live peacefully in their natural habitat. Wolves should be protected and given lots of space. In places were wolves are extinct, they should be reintroduced. My research has shown that wolves are excellent for ecosystems but they have been misunderstood. Wolves are helpful for ecosystems because they keep animal populations balanced. Wolves hunt young, weak and old prey, which helps these populations stay healthy. Also, when wolves aren’t hunting certain animal populations (like elk) grow too large. When the elk population grows too large their food source (plants) reduces so there is not enough food for all the elk. Wolves help control the population of elk, coyote and foxes by killing them or chasing them away. In states like Colorado when wolf populations become endangered it impacts other animals because overpopulation means there is not enough food. Wolves used to be in most states, now they are only in a few. People misunderstand wolves. Just because wolves eat meat some people think they are dangerous, inhumane and mean. Stories like The __**Three Little Pigs and the big bad wolf**__ teaches negative stereotypes. Stories about wolves, like the **Three Little Pigs**, make some people believe this. If people really understood wolves in their natural habitat they would realize that wolves are important and keep the balance of nature sustainable. Defenders of wildlife is not the only group that believes wolves should be safe and protected. For example, recreationalists, animal rights activists and national park representatives all want wolves to be safe in our environment and roam free. Animal rights activists believe it is cruel to kill wolves just because people don’t understand them. National park representatives know that more tourists will visit our parks to see wolves in their natural habitat. Recreationalists are also interested in seeing the wolves while they are out enjoying nature. Not everyone agrees with our ideas so my group will need to compromise with some others. The main two groups of stakeholders who disagree with us are hunters and cattle ranchers. Hunters believe that wolves should be hunted for money and also so that wolves won’t kill off their other hunting game. Cattle ranchers want to control the wolf population because wolves kill their livestock and that makes the ranchers lose money. A smart plan would be one where all animal populations stay healthy and people feel they are treated fairly. For hunters we would try to keep the wolf populations in national parks so they could hunt in other places. This would result in hunters having healthy game to hunt. Wolves could be kept away from livestock by using nonlethal weapons such as guns with rubber bullets. The cattle ranchers’ livestock would not be killed and they would not lose money. Also wolves would be radio collared so that we could keep track of the population, which would benefit everyone. More people will be visiting national parks to see wolves so the extra money from park fees could be used to help pay for this. These ideas could be used to help bring wolves back to all the states where they once lived.
 * Position/Rationale**
 * Evidence**
 * Allies**
 * Area of Compromise**
 * Ideal Mediation**