Opponents to wolf restoration in Colorado argue that wolves would present a danger to backcountry users.
I served as a park ranger in Yellowstone from 1980 to 1997, and I led hundreds of people afield to view and study wolves between 1999 and 2005. I never saw anything that gave me a hint of concern about my safety or that of my companions.
Data from Yellowstone suggest how outdoor Coloradans might fare with wolves. From 1995 to 2018, Yellowstone hosted 101,070,722 visitors, none of whom was injured by a wolf. Many of them camped in tents in developed campgrounds or in the backcountry.
From 1995-2015, a total of 1,702,769 tent campers used Yellowstone developed campgrounds, averaging 81,084 per year. From 1995-2018, a total of 1,007,484 person-use nights in the backcountry were recorded, averaging 41,978 person-use nights per year. Among those 2.7 million tent campers in developed campgrounds and in the backcountry, no camper was injured by a wolf.
Biologist Rick McIntyre recently wrote me that, “I have been out in Yellowstone for more than 8,000 days since the wolves were reintroduced in 1995 and had over 100,000 wolf sightings during that time. I never felt threatened by any wolves.” (Rick’s third book on wolves, “The Rise of Wolf 8,” has just been released.)
Norman BishopBozeman, Montana
