• News
• Sports
• Opinion
• A&E
• Multimedia
• Features
• Obituaries
• Blogs

  Home Page » Features » Columnists » Out Standing In The Fields » Predatorhuman Interaction Is A Balancing Act

Predator-human interaction is a balancing act

by Doug Ramsey
Out Standing in the Fields Sitting at the table, I looked out at the members of our community who had come to hear about wildlife and how it was changing.

Sitting with me at the speakers table were Michael Rendon, Durango City Council member, and Patt Dorsey, district manager from the Colorado Division of Wildlife. We had been invited by the Durango Public Library to discuss "The Beast in the Garden: A Modern Parable of Man and Nature," a book by David Baron. The book covers the return of predators to Boulder County from the late 1980s up until January 1991.

Boulder, much like Durango and many cities in the West, was growing fast and facing many new issues. The issues were taking place in the wildlife/urban interface where the deer were looked at as invited guests to be enjoyed as they moved into the backyards and parks in town. The growing problem was that along with the growth of the deer population, so was the cougar population, and it was following dinner into town.

The book does a good job of laying out what was happening as the cougars first began to be sighted until they began to attack first pets and livestock, then humans. These encounters finally culminated with Scott Lancaster being killed while he jogged behind Clear Creek High School in January 1991.

The discussion with the audience was interesting and informative. Discussions included the way the Division of Wildlife handled the situation in 1991, when cougars in town were new and unpredicted, and today, when bears and cougars are repopulating areas where people have built cities. The problem is a big balancing act where the needs of wildlife need to balanced with the safety of our communities. Our cities, farms and homesites do not exist in a wilderness where all is wild and natural, nor do they exist like Disneyland, where predators are friendly and will not hurt someone. Life in the West is somewhere in between. We have changed the way wildlife live and behave by our homes, pets and imported vegetation. What once was truly wild is now at home in our cities.

Dorsey explained the DOW's current philosophy as a "managed coexistence," where wildlife is important and education of the community can help to avoid problems. But when predators cross a line, action such as education of the predator to avoid the conflicts may be possible, or it may be necessary to remove or kill the offending animal. The hard part for everyone is determining where that line is and what action best serves the needs of the wildlife and the community. As it goes in politics, whatever decision is made, you will always have some group that is unhappy with the outcome.

As populations grow (both human and wildlife), conflicts will also. Being proactive with education will help, but choosing to live with nature can bring both the good and the bad into your backyard. Stop by the library and check out a copy of The Beast in the Garden; it will give you a broader understanding of issues involving interactions between predators and humans.

Doug Ramsey has farmed in La Plata County for more than 25 years. He can be reached at 385-4375.