Southern Rockies Wolf Restoration Campaign
Reintroduction of the gray wolf to the Southern Rockies would not only help a federally endangered species recover, it would also help restore the delicate balance of the Southern Rockies ecosystem.
Restoring the Gray Wolf
Since the last Colorado wolf was killed in 1945 as a result of a government-led campaign of extirpation, the Southern Rockies landscape has been missing a key ecosystem regulator: the wolf. The Southern Rockies' large tracts of public lands could easily serve as reintroduction sites and provide plenty of room for wolves to roam with little conflict.
The gray wolf-nearly exterminated by past governmental policy-is now a federally endangered species. Proactive policy development and public education will be required to ensure that the federal and state governments do the right thing by returning the wolf and restoring natural balance to the Southern Rockies.
The Challenge
Unfortunately, in the Rocky Mountains of northern New Mexico, Colorado, and southern Wyoming, the effects of population growth, extractive industries, and livestock grazing threaten native habitat and wildlands, as well as the diversity of flora and fauna that regulate ecosystem health. The Sierra Club is working to combat these threats to wildlife and their habitats while simultaneously working to reintroduce wolves.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has written a draft plan¹ that attempts to reduce protection for the gray wolf in the Lower 48 states, even though wolves are still missing from key areas. The draft plan also lessens the chance that wolves will be restored to the Southern Rockies. The FWS has received tens of thousands of comments from concerned citizens around the country-largely generated by the Sierra Club's organizing efforts-demanding full and continued protection for the wolf under the Endangered Species Act. Still, it is not clear that the plan will be improved to better protect wolves and promote reintroduction in the Southern Rockies.
¹Links to archived copies of Department of Interior sites provided courtesy of the Wayback Machine.
Wolves in the Southern Rockies
While the FWS has studied and established a plan to recover the wolf in the Northern Rockies, it continues to ignore the important role the Southern Rockies can play in wolf recovery. In 1993, Congress appropriated funding for the FWS to conduct a Biological Feasibility Study on the practicality of reintroducing wolves in Colorado. In eleven national forests and neighboring areas, scientists concluded that 1,128 wolves could survive given the existing prey base, a clear indication that the Southern Rockies are critical habitat for wolf recovery. A poll, released in May 2001, showed that over two-thirds of Coloradans from all parts of the state favor wolf reintroduction. These numbers prove that there is strong and lasting public support for our wolf recovery efforts, and the Sierra Club is dedicated to making the wolf's return to the Southern Rockies a reality.
Sierra Club
There is nothing inevitable about the future of our environment. A poisoned stream can get worse, stay the same, or get better. It depends largely on what we choose to do. That simple belief, backed by a century of effort and results, drives the Sierra Club. It's why the Aspen Institute named us "the most influential environmental organization," and it's why our 700,000 members possess the unique ability to empower people and influence public policy through activism, public education, lobbying, and litigation. At the dawn of our second century, we reaffirm our passionate commitment to explore, enjoy, and protect the earth.
Southern Rockies Wolf Restoration Campaign
The goal of the Sierra Club's The Southern Rockies Wolf Restoration Campaign is to educate the public and key state and federal decision-makers about the importance of establishing a wolf recovery area in the Southern Rockies, and to ultimately reintroduce wolves there.
Southwest Regional Field Office
The Southwest Regional Field Office has a long and established history of protecting wild habitats in the Southwest, from the deserts and canyons of New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Our experience includes working with federal agencies, educating the public, and mobilizing activists around public lands issues. For nearly 20 years, we have built an extensive network of volunteers, activists, and environmental organizations, and a membership base of 21,000.
Your Support Can Make a Difference
You can help restore the gray wolf to its natural habitat in the Southern Rockies. Without support from the Sierra Club, the gray wolf, and the ecosystems of the Southern Rockies, may face a grim future. If you'd like to make a direct impact on the natural ecosystems and majestic wildlife that need your help, please support the Sierra Club's Southern Rockies Wolf Restoration Campaign.