Several member groups of the Southern Rockies Wolf Restoration Project paid for the poll. The groups also sent letters to Interior Secretary Gale Norton and Gov. Bill Owens, along with the survey's results, to urge the development and implementation of a reintroduction plan for gray wolves in the southern Rocky Mountains. It's time for the federal and state government to recognize the need for wolves in the region, and the will of the people to have wolves in the region. Edward said the federal government should try to create a connected population of wolves from Yellowstone to New Mexico, instead of the isolated wolf populations that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is managing now. But Todd Malmsbury of the state Division of Wildlife said Colorado is not an ideal wolf recovery area.
Human interaction is a big question.
He said the state Legislature opposes any introduction of a species no longer living here without its approval. That approval is unlikely in the near future, Malmsbury said. The Fish and Wildlife Service said it would cost more and take longer in Colorado. Sinapu and other groups said they wanted to discuss the possibility of using private funding for the reintroduction efforts. They argued that restoring wolves is important to the balance of the ecosystems here.