The Rest of the Story
(Note: The first of these stories about a gray wolf beginning a new life in Colorado was published by Writers on the Range, and carried in over 40 newspapers across the West in March of 2024. Because of the inspiring positive feedback I received, I’ve begun writing additional episodes which will be posted here at monthly intervals. I hope you enjoy them. I especially hope you will share Colorado Wolf Stories with anyone you think would be interested.)
These are works of what I call “informed speculation.” They tell the imagined experiences of a fictional gray wolf, as representative of the 10 actual wolves captured in Oregon and released on Colorado public lands in December 2023 in accord with a voter initiative.
That bold, citizen-led effort has only taken its first steps, but it is already in the history books of American wildlife conservation. Wolves are back in Colorado to stay.
For advocates who understand the importance of wolves this is a thrilling opportunity to right a historic wrong, to return a native animal, and to begin a process of ecological restoration which will ultimately benefit other animal species, plant communities, and the landscape itself.
For some Coloradans, particularly those involved in agriculture, wolves present challenges which will require changes to livestock raising practices. Others fear that wolves will negatively affect hunting opportunities. Happily, state agency statistics show that livestock production in the northern Rockies, where wolves were restored in 1995, continues to thrive, and elk are more numerous today than before wolves were reintroduced.
These stories are informed by observations of wolf behavior made over decades by various naturalists and writers, and told in books such as “Of Wolves and Men” by Barry Lopez, “Restoring the Balance” by John A. Vucetich, and most helpfully, several excellent titles by Rick McIntyre writing about his extraordinary ranger career in Yellowstone National Park. I am likewise deeply grateful for content advice from friends and colleagues who are some of the most experienced wolf biologists and educators in the Rocky Mountains.
As a lifelong advocate for wolves and other wildlife, and a former National Park Ranger in Colorado, I felt the need to write these stories because of frustration over how wolves are invariably portrayed in the media. The only time wolves make news and receive public notice is when something bad happens, while their essential intrinsic values go almost unnoticed. For example: Wolves kill domestic cow is NEWS. Wolves move elk out of overgrazed riparian area is NOT NEWS.
This kind of distorted messaging, limited to rare negative events, poses a question that I believe needs answering. In the words of legendary broadcaster Paul Harvey, what about the rest of the story?
Colorado Wolf Stories is my attempt to present that larger picture of the fascinating and surprisingly relatable hidden life of an essential Colorado native.
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