Recreationalist

Stakeholder: Recreationalist
= = Hugo  11/18/08 One thing that I, as a tourist at Yellowstone like to do is wolf watching. Wolf watching is an activity almost exclusively confined to Yellowstone National Park, at least for the public. The best place to be is Lamar Valley if you want to see Canis Lupus (grey wolf). The druid pack lives there for most of the year. My position: The main reason I think recreationalist like to wolf watch and want wolves around is because wolves were wiped out of America. The reason wolves disappeared 100 years ago is because our great country had low or no value for nature so the settlers got rid of all the deer, bison… for food and to get them off “their land”. Then after that massacre was finish, wolves and other predators were the problem because their only prey was livestock. The government’s solution was to give a reward to everybody who gives him or her the coat of one of these beasts. In other words slay them all. There were three main reasons that everybody wanted to kill them: one because they were eating livestock; two because they were competition and third reason was because everybody was frightened of them. Now most people are not afraid of wolves. Recreationalists are more afraid of the fact that people are still-hunting these animals illegally and that they could go extinct like 100 years ago. They are afraid of them going extinct because their children and grand children might never see a wolf just like they might never see a polar bear. What I do: It’s true that I enjoy watching wolves and could do it all day if I could but there is plenty other of things I like to do: hiking, skiing, mountain biking, fishing, white water rafting, and lots more in all sorts of places and categories. My top three favorites are skiing, mountain biking and wolf watching. I like wolf watching a lot because once someone in the crowd spots a wolf he or she yells out “look over there on the hill a wolf” and suddenly everybody turns in the direction of the wolf and starts watching the marvelous creature. When you are watching the wolf you get a sudden thrill of adrenalin and you feel excited, I love it. I like skiing also because I’m really good at it and I’ve been doing this sport ever since I was three. The main reason I take pleasure in skiing is because I love to jump, and the feeling I have when I am airborne is the most wonderful feeling in the world, suddenly all thoughts have left my mind and I feel weightless and it feels like I’m flying, it’s a one of a kind feeling. I love free skiing because it’s in the wild and there is always a chance that you encounter a snow-white wolf. This has happened to me once. It was probably the most thrilling moment of my life. My allies: All my allies are for wolves and believe that wolves help the eco system and balance the elk population, which help willow to grow which provide more room for birds and other small animals. This is called a cascading affect. My allies are Tourism Company because they guide around Yellowstone and try to create fundraising to protect wolves. They also educate tourists about the animals they are watching. Animal Right Activist are also one of my allies because they protect the wolves that I watch. Defenders of Wildlife are also my allies because they protect the wolves in a similar way that Animal Right Activist do. My rivals: My rivals are hunters, private hunting guides and ranchers. They are all against wolves and want to get rid of them and kill them. They want to shoot them because the wolves are eating all the cattle or killing all the elk. Frankly I don’t think that hunters should think that the elk is theirs to kill because the wolves need to kill them for food and to feed the pack. And honestly do wolves know that fences are meant to keep wolves out. Sincerely I think that the wolves can’t be blamed for that. Another one of my rivals is the Canadian government because they allow their citizens to have machine guns so that they can shoot down a whole pack of wolves. Conclusion: Recreationalists want wolves for multiple reasons. One apparent reason is that they are interesting to watch. Another one is that they’re an influence because “they take care of themselves and people learn from that” said Richard Baldes Shoshone wildlife biologist furthermore that is true and we should admire and respect these smart, beautiful, interesting creatures. http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/index.htm http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/wolves/bangs.html

I am Trevor and I am here to represent the recreationalists. The reason I am helping represent the recreationalists is because I think that I feel the same way about wolves as most of them do. I want wolves to migrate to Colorado. The reason I want them to migrate is so they don’t have to go through a hard or soft reintroduction. A soft reintroduction is when wolves are captured and put into a fenced area and be fed by humans. The park workers do that until the wolves are comfortable in the new environment and then released. A hard reintroduction is when they are captured and let go where ever they decide without any time to adjust to the new environment. A migration is when the wolves come by themselves and ease their way into their destination. That is why I want wolves to migrate. Wolves should migrate to Colorado, because it helps balance other animal populations and plant populations. It helps the economy of Rocky Mountain National Park because people like to see wolves. If they migrate here they don’t have to go through the pain of being captured. If we let them migrate, they can come whenever they want. If they don’t like the new environment they can leave. Colorado would have a better environment if wolves were here because animals that eat plants are being eaten so plants have chance to grow and take in more CO2. Since the wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone National Park, the elk population has lowered and because the elk population has lowered the willow population has risen. The willows have also had the chance to grow taller so birds can grow there. It helps the park’s economy because more tourists come there to see wolves and people have to pay to enter and they might need to buy wolf watching gear. Here are some people that I think are allies of the recreationalists. The animal rights activists would be an ally, because they protect animals from being hurt. They are allies because they want animals to be left undisturbed, so if the wolves comeback, it would be like they were never gone. Tourism companies would also be considered an ally. Tourism companies show people around the park and they would normally only see elk and other animals but if wolves were there a lot more people would come. They are allies because they don’t want wolves to be driven off or killed because that is basically killing money. I also think that Defenders of Wildlife are allies. Defenders of Wildlife want the population of endangered animals population to grow. To grow they need more space and food to make that happen. National park representatives would also be an ally. They would want there to be wolves because if there are the animals that they eat the populations of those animals would become more sustainable. Environmentalists would also be an ally, because they want wolves to balance out all of the other populations to make them sustainable. Here is how I would compromise with everyone else. The compromise with the cattle ranchers would be that they can tranquilize wolves that come on their property and have them relocated and get the money that they lost from the government. The compromise that I would make with the Estes park resident would be to have wolves in a different part of the park so they won’t come near you. I would also have to compromise with the private hunters and this is how I think it should be done. All of the private hunters would have your own private place to hunt. Hunting guides are some other people I need to compromise with. My compromise is that wolves kill the easiest to catch so they don’t have to work that hard so that leaves the strong ones for the guides and the people you are guiding. The ideal wolf management plan would be to have them migrate from New Mexico and Yellowstone National Park. Once they have done that and they would be on Colorado endangered species list. They should be delisted when their population is over 3000. Once it is that high there should be a small hunting season.
 * David 1 11/16/08**
 * Position**
 * Rationale**
 * Evidence**
 * Allies**
 * Areas of Compromise**
 * Wolf Management Plan**

By Helena November 16, 2008 I am a recreationalist and I enjoy seeing wolves with my family. Last year I visited Rocky Mountain National Park several times. My family and I love to see wildlife and nature. We also love outdoor activities, such as hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, mountain biking, ice skating, wolf watching, snow boarding, camping and rock climbing. All of these activities are available in Rocky Mountain National Park except for wolf watching. Yellowstone National Park, where my family and I usually go to wolf watch, makes about one third of their budget off of wolf watchers. This is because Yellowstone National Park is one of the very few places where you are able to see wolves and bears in the same environment. It is also because wolves are a beautiful sight to see for tourists. “Wolves really do attract a lot of people” said David Watson who leads wildlife expeditions in Jackson, Wyoming. Reintroducing wolves in to Rocky Mountain National Park would benefit the environment. Wolves would eat many elk and moose, but this would balance out the over population of these animals. With fewer elk and moose that eat most of the willow and other plants in the park, there would end up being more food to go around for smaller animals that also rely these on plants as their main food source such as many species of birds. Having wolves in Rocky Mountain National Park could result in more variety of wildlife. Wolves could benefit the economy as well. Local photographers would be benefited because they could sell more photos of wolves without having to go all the way up to Yellowstone National Park. Tourism companies would also benefit because of more tourism profit. Numerous people do not agree that wolves should be reintroduced into Rocky Mountain National Park. Many of the opponents are the private hunters and hunting guides because the wolves would kill a portion of their quarry another group apposed to the reintroduction is the cattle and sheep ranchers because wolves can consume and harass their herds. On the other hand many people do agree that wolves should be reintroduced into Rocky Mountain National Park. Those people include the tourism companies because wolves attract many tourists, the animal right activists and the defenders of wildlife because many of them believe that wolves have the right to live in Rocky Mountain National Park and the Recreationalist because they enjoy seeing wolves. Because of the two sides, for and against wolves, we as Coloradans would have to come about with a compromise. One compromise that I suggest is that instead of allowing ranchers to freely shoot wolves on their property they should only be allowed to kill the wolf if it harasses or kills a part of their herd. The ranchers could be allowed to capture the wolf if it was on their property so that it could be realest back into the wild. As for the elk hunters and hunting guides, instead of being able to hunt whenever they want there should be a season for hunting elk. This season would be extended because there are many elk to go around for hunters and for wolves. These compromises would let the cattle and sheep ranchers either kill or capture wolves that harassed or kill their herds, allow hunting guides and hunters the privilege to hunt for an extended season and would allow recreationalists to enjoy watching wolves here in Colorado. Hopefully as Coloradans we will choose to reintroduce wolves into Rocky Mountain National Park. Wolves balance out the populations of many spices of wildlife such as elk and moose. With fewer elk and moose comes more willow to go around for other animals, this could result in more species, such as birds, in the park. Wolves benefit the economy by attracting more tourists. The ranchers and the hunters would be satisfied because they could protect their quarry and could hunt for an extended season. The tourism companies, animal rights activists and the defenders of wildlife would all be content because of the reintroduction of the wolves into Rocky Mountain National Park. I as a recreationalist would be fulfilled because I would be able to go wolf watching with my family right here in Rocky Mountain National Park. The End
 * Recreationalist**
 * Position**
 * Rational and Evidence**
 * Allies and Areas of Compromise**
 * Mediation Results and Conclusion**

Stakeholder Analysis Sam A Monday, November 17, 2008

My stakeholder is a recreationalist. My name is Abigail Walker and I love all sorts of outdoor activities; hiking, biking, fishing, rock climbing, surfing, snowboarding, skiing, wakeboarding, camping, canoeing, kayaking, swimming, white water rafting and wolf watching. As you can see I enjoy any kind of outdoor activity. I am a very active person and living in Colorado provides me with many outdoor options. I am thankful that Colorado gives me so many outdoor activities, but there is one flaw: no wolf watching. Unfortunately, I have to drive to Wyoming every year to do that. I feel that wolves should be reintroduced into Colorado national parks, but more on that later. My position according to this issue is pro-wolf. I feel this way because I believe that many people love to wolf watch, and because of that Yellowstone is now the most popular place in the world to view wolves in the wild. Wolf-watching has a very positive economic impact. It brings in millions and millions of dollars per year. People from all over the world come to Yellowstone to snap pictures of wolves perched high in the rocky cliffs with their high-tech cameras. And when those people come from all over the world to see the wolves in Yellowstone, it helps all the small towns near Yellowstone. When many people come, they provide more money for bookstores, groceries, shops and boutiques, gas stations, hotels, motels, etc. Now you can see how wolves benefit everybody! I think wolves help small towns prosper, and because of that I think those towns should be thankful for the wolves. Other people may enjoy viewing wolves because just spotting them among the trees will get your heart racing. Wolf watching sends a thrill through your spine. It gets your heart beating fast, and you can only think about the wolf. Your heart beats these words, wolf, wolf, wolf. Wolves are beautiful, majestic and intelligent. They are truly extraordinary mammals. It’s not so hard to imagine why so many people love to watch them! Wolves give you this sense of bliss and tranquility, as if everything fits together perfectly, like a puzzle. I feel very strongly that if people can enjoy wolves in Yellowstone, why can’t they have the same experience in Colorado? If we reintroduced wolves into Colorado’s national parks, not only would our environment become stable and balanced, but small towns would soon become prosperous. If people from other countries and states came to view wolves, along with tons of locals like me, imagine how much money those small towns would be earning from the wolf watchers alone. Wolves would greatly advantage Colorado. Mr. Daven Hafey from the National Park Service is a park ranger in Yellowstone. Being a ranger, he has had many opportunities to spot wolves. Just recently, he has found himself facing two separate wolf packs. He told me that simply staring at the creatures got his adrenaline rushing and his heart beating fast. He only felt this way because he knew the strength and intelligence these animals possess. This shows you how much real-life people love wolves. In an e-mail from Mr. Kenneth Mills from Wyoming Fish and Game, he told me that Yellowstone is now the most popular place in the world to view wolves in the wild. On the other side, a man named Mr. John Trapp, a wolf management specialist, wrote to me in an email that he thought wolves indeed could live in and around Rocky Mountain National Park yet he believes that wolves will eventually get to Rocky Mountain National Park by themselves, without the assistance of humans. I do want wolves to be reintroduced as soon as possible, but if it has to come down to letting them get there on their own, I do not completely oppose it. But us recreationalists aren’t giving up our fight just yet! An ally of mine is a national park representative. I think some of our similarities are that we both encourage people to enjoy the outdoors. We both want people to view wolves in the wild. I try to get all my friends interested in wolf watching. I think that having a lot of people like me who come to Yellowstone to wolf watch is good for the representative because he gets money that way. We both want as many people as possible to get involved in wolf watching. Because I love wolves so much, I feel people should get involved with the wilderness around them, become more aware of life and death, and the representative because he will make money that way. A stakeholder that I predict I will have to come to a consensus with is a rancher. A rancher would probably oppose wolves in national parks since wolves have a tendency to leave the borders of the parks. This is a problem because when the wolves get out of the park, they might kill a rancher’s livestock. I strongly encourage the national parks to try harder to make some sort of barrier to keep the wolves inside the park. Ranchers should also have the right to scare away any wolf that threatens their livestock. If this means putting up an electric fence around the livestock pen, then they should be able to do it. Whatever they need to do in order to protect their livestock is part of the compromise. This way, people will be able to see wolves in the wild, but ranchers will also be able to protect their livestock. Another ally of mine is an Estes Park representative. They might oppose the reintroduction of wolves because they are a threat to domestic pets and young children. They are worried that the wolves might stray into Estes Park and eat the people’s garbage or threaten pets. I completely understand. If I were a parent, of course my first concern would be the safety of my child, and who wants a somewhat harmful, extremely large and powerful mammal straying into their yard and making a mess? I believe a good compromise for this issue would be one that allows Estes Park residents to use a non-lethal weapon of some sort to protect themselves, their kids, and their pets from wolves. An ideal wolf management plan would be one that allows Estes Park representatives to let the Estes Park residents to have some kind of defense to protect their domestic pets and themselves against wolves. It would allow private hunters to kill a certain number of elk per year, in order to leave some for a healthy herd, and some for other hunters. It would allow recreationalists to view wolves at any time of the year. They would be able to view wolves from a safe distance. It would allow animal rights activist to be able to speak up and chime in about their opinions on wolves. They would be heard, and their thoughts would be put into action as best as possible. Hunting guides would be able to make money from the hunters, who can only hunt a certain number of elk, but the guide is still doing his job. It would allow tourism companies to lead recreationalists such as myself out into the wilderness to snap photos of wolves and learn about them, but still from a far away distance. Defenders of wildlife would certainly be happy with this plan since every animal is now balanced and secure because of the wolves. The ecosystem is balanced too. The environmentalist should be happy with this plan also, because of the well-balanced ecosystem and circle of life. I do realize that wolves aren’t perfect, but then again, nobody is. They deserve every right that a chipmunk has, they should be able to roam around, enjoying the way of life and nature, all the while being loved by millions of entranced viewers. Wolves are the legs of chair, without them, the chair collapses. They support the ecosystem; they protect the animals of the wild and keep the population of certain species under control. Since the wolves kill the sickly elk, that leaves strong, healthy elk to form the rest of the pack, and scavengers can eat off the carcass, now the elk can eat the willow, which keeps the willow population under control. Now the birds that live in the willow are also kept under control and the small rodents are balanced because the scavengers that eat them are well fed from carcasses and are able to hunt well. Without wolves, who knows what we would do! So please, let’s fight for what’s right!
 * My Stakeholder**
 * Position, Rationale and Evidence**
 * Allies**
 * Compromises**
 * Ideal Mediation Plan**
 * Conclusion**

Fierce, strong, and respected, the wolf has been a problem for some people and a blessing for others, including me. Wolves have existed throughout history and all the while many interested parties have intervened in the wolves’ lifestyle and pursuit of happiness. I am a recreationalist who is in favor of wolves and believe that more wolves should come to Colorado. Whatever I’m doing, whether it’s biking, hiking, or swimming, I always watch for wildlife. Part of enjoying the great outdoors in Colorado is seeing animals in their native habitat. For me, this is especially true about wolves since they are cousins to the dogs that so many of us have as pets. Therefore, I believe that more wolves should come to Colorado. In 1995, more than 65 wolves were released across areas of Yellowstone National Park. Today, at least 1,500 wolves roam that area. At the beginning of 2008, Rocky Mountain gray wolves were no longer considered by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service to be in need of protection and were taken off the Endangered Species List, which resulted in many wolves being killed. Recently, however, the Rocky Mountain gray wolves were put back on the Endangered Species List due to the efforts of recreationalists like me. This is one step in the right direction for the return of more wolves to Colorado. Rob Edward, the director for carnivore recovery at Wild Earth Guardians, wants wolves to be reintroduced to Rocky Mountain National Park so the wolf population can continue to evolve. Edwards says that the Government is trying to finish the job quickly without doing it thoroughly. He’s enraged that we have the land, prey, and public support to have wolves survive here but have taken more than 30 years (and still counting) for wolves to come back to their rightful place in the West. He says that “at the end of the day, we will get wolves back and beat the bullies. After the gray wolves were reinstated on the Endangered Species List by a federal court, one important point stands out: we need to achieve balance and start a science-based management plan for the wolves. This realization is clear because the wolves have had a long and unsustainable history and deserve the right to have a newfound life. The court decreed that Yellowstone’s wolves need to be isolated from wolves around Idaho and Glacier National Park because wolf genetics could become jumbled, resulting in wolf hybrids which would cause purebred gray wolves to disappear. Taking pictures and observing nature are my passions as a recreationalist, so I believe that we should allow many more wolves to live in Colorado. My allies, who are private hunters, animal rights activists, defenders of wildlife, and environmentalists, all feel the same way that I do because wolves play an important part in all of our lives. All recreationalists and our like-minded wolf allies are connected to wolves in some meaningful way. Private hunters want more wolves in Colorado because that gives them more business. Animal rights activists and defenders of wildlife feel a duty to protect the rights of every animal. Environmentalists believe that we need to care for the environment, including animals like wolves that live in the wild. Whether we feel a duty to protect them or just like to observe them, we all share similar feelings about wolves and their importance to us and the world. Unfortunately, not everyone shares our opinion, including national park representatives, tourism companies, hunting guides, and cattle and sheep ranchers. A compromise regarding importing more wolves into the state might be to bring half of the number of wolves to Colorado that the pro-wolf party wants or moving them to neighboring states of Colorado. Although my allies and I wouldn’t be able to see as many wolves in the wilderness, tourists and park visitors wouldn’t feel threatened by a large number of wolves and hunters would have more elk to hunt because there wouldn’t be as many wolves to attack the elk. Another option might be to provide wolf sanctuaries where wolves could live without bringing worry to ranchers and tourists could visit without fear. Either of these plans would appeal to hunting guides who want more elk to survive for hunting purposes. In the ideal wolf management plan, ranchers would scare off wolves without killing them if wolves posed a threat to their livestock by shooting their guns into the air or making loud noises that the wolves don’t like. That approach would ensure that wolves wouldn’t be killed unnecessarily and that livestock would be protected by their owners. The ranchers would be happy because they wouldn’t have to pay for higher fences or see their cattle killed. If too many wolves existed in Colorado and posed a threat to people, some of the wolves could be relocated to other states with suitable environments. In the mediation, I’m hoping that we decide upon something that fits everyone. Though everyone has a different point of view and opinion on the wolf issue, we all have an interest in the state of Colorado. By working out a mutually agreeable solution to the wolf population in our state, we can all enjoy the many wonderful aspects of nature in Colorado.
 * By Natalie L.**
 * November 17**
 * Position**
 * Rationale**
 * History**
 * Evidence**
 * Allies**
 * Compromise**
 * An Ideal Wolf Management Plan**

Stakeholder Analysis Mason M 11/4/08

Position I am a recreationalist. Recreationalists are any type of people who do recreational activities in national parks or on hiking trails. Recreationalists include: hikers, mountain bikers, skiers, rock climbers, hunters and wildlife watchers. For my stakeholder analysis I researched whether recreationalists in Estes Park would prefer having wolves in Rocky Mountain National Park. We do not want wolves in the town of Estes Park; however we do want them in Rocky Mountain National Park. Rationale As a recreationalist myself, I would not like to have wolves in Rocky Mountain National Park because they would interfere with my hiking and be a danger to my dog. Even though wolves would keep the deer in check, I would prefer to have them separate from the hiking trails for our safety, and so wolves won’t get run over by the cars on the highway. However a large group of recreationalists, mainly animal watchers, would prefer having wolves in Rocky Mountain National Park because they would be interesting to watch and would help the tourism department. Evidence Because very few recreationalists are professionals who make their living through their preferred form of recreation, recreationalists’ opinions vary between where they live, their profession, and their favored type of recreation. For example, a caribou hunter will have a very different opinion than a hiker whose job is an animal rights activist. The hiker would want wolves for environmental reasons, but wolves would affect a caribou hunter’s job. Another way recreationalists’ opinions can be influenced is if they live in Estes Park. Many animal rights activists live in Estes Park and are also recreationalists. Their opinions vary with what they are doing at the time. For example, if they were arguing over the importance of having wolves in Rocky Mountain National Park, they would want to have wolves because of their importance in sustaining the elk. However, if they were expressing their point of view from an Estes Park resident or a recreationalist, they would rather not have wolves for safety reasons. The most popular forms of recreation are hiking and mountain biking, rock climbing and hunting come next, and then birding, and wildlife watching. In big game watching wolf watching is the least popular. The very few wolf watchers are mostly scientists studying the wolves for scientific purposes instead of recreational ones. The R.E.I. catalog has a small section for light duty wildlife watching, mainly binoculars for bird watching. Since there is such a small selection of wildlife watching equipment in a large store such as R.E.I., it must not be a very popular form of recreation. According to the Estes Park information guide, elk and deer can be seen from the windows of their car. If wolves lived in Estes Park the deer population would be kept in check, keeping the scientists happy from environmental balance, but now people can’t see deer from their window. Because people can’t see deer from their window, wildlife watchers and enthusiasts would have to go hiking to look for them. Also the deer would be much more cautious of people and would be harder to see. The recreationalists would have to go and buy some expensive high grade binoculars to see the deer, giving more money to the shop owners. The recreationalists then have to spend lots of money on wildlife watching and so it becomes their hobby that they spend their free money on. Back at the store however, in order to keep up with the growing demand of the wildlife watching equipment, the stores have to cut back on equipment for other recreational activities, such as mountain biking and camping. The other recreationalists have to look far and wide to find their equipment, and would also start going to other parks to hike or bike, because the trails in Estes Park would be centered on wildlife watching. Yellowstone, for example is centered on wildlife watching and sightseeing, because it has more animals to watch and more interesting natural features (clay pits and geysers). Another park however such as Red Rocks, is more centered on hiking and other recreational activities because there are fewer animals, and the natural features (flat irons) can be seen from the road. Also because the amphitheater is there, more people like to hike there because when they get to the bottom they can relax before they have to drive home, as apposed to a conventional hiking trail they would have to drive home right after the hike. Allies My allies are mainly the Estes Park residents, primarily because most recreationalists also live in the area, and people who live by a park usually live there because of the easy access to hiking and biking trails. Estes Park residents agree with us on keeping the wolves in a certain area, somewhat away from the city and highways. They also agree that there should be a separate area for hiking and biking that wolves cannot access because of the safety of the hikers. They also agree that wolves in or near to the actual town is a threat to pets and other small animals, as well as free range cattle and livestock. The cattle ranchers have rights to land on the park, but so do the wolves. Some of the cattle ranchers aren’t satisfied with using deterrent to scare wolves away from their property because the wolves still attack their cattle when they are let out to graze. In order to prevent wolves from attacking cattle, the cattle would have to be prevented from grazing. This takes away from the rancher’s rights; however they are satisfied from using rubber bullets while their cattle graze Ideal Mediation In conclusion a town with wolves is happier economically, but dissatisfies most of the recreationalists with the exception of the wildlife watchers who have to spend more money to continue their hobby. The recreationalists as a whole agree that wolves should be allowed into Rocky Mountain National Park, as long as the wolves are prevented from entering the town and hiking trails using fences and deterrents.