Craigd: I have hunted elk and deer in that area for well-over 30-years now. I suspect that my normally high-success rate will now begin to fall-off rather precipitously (if you can believe the reports from Montana and Wyoming on the subject). I'm of two minds about that, the first being that I've probably shot my share after all this time and that I should feel fortunate to have been so-blessed. My second thought is however, for the local economy up there (in lovely Craig, Colorado) and the now-elderly couple who own and run the neat little local motel that we've used, pretty-much every year, for all that time. My hunting partners & I (and now our children) have become something like old friends to those folks, to the point where we exchange Christmas cards every year. The local economy clearly depends on the regular traffic and business that big game hunting provides to that little corner of the world every Fall (the big orange signs they put up everywhere welcoming the hunters to town seems to confirm that). We eat in all the restaurants, shop in all the stores and buy lots of fuel for the multiple weeks that we might be up there chasing mule deer, elk and antelope. I'm happy that the 1st Gentleman here in Colorado has finally found his "calling" and is determined to alter the landscape by importing wolves from various other states to "re-balance" the food chains here in his husband's (the Governor's) state. We've also become quite familiar with some of the local rancher's we've hunted on over the years, and their operations are now increasingly complicated by this development. They may control baronial amounts of land, but their existence seems to be almost hand-to-mouth in many cases. The loss of some calves or sheep or even a treasured dog will not enhance their existence in any fashion, and will likely move them closer to the "brink". One wonders if that is indeed the goal here.
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