{"id":2270423,"date":"2024-06-18T11:47:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-18T15:47:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/polis-responds-to-resident-concerned-about-wolverines-killing-her-pets-put-up-fencing\/"},"modified":"2024-06-18T11:53:22","modified_gmt":"2024-06-18T15:53:22","slug":"polis-responds-to-resident-concerned-about-wolverines-killing-her-pets-put-up-fencing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/polis-responds-to-resident-concerned-about-wolverines-killing-her-pets-put-up-fencing\/","title":{"rendered":"Polis to Resident Worried About Wolverines: \u2018Install Fencing"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpolis-responds-to-resident-concerned-about-wolverines-killing-her-pets-put-up-fencing%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2270423&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In response to\u200d the introduction of wolverines in Colorado, a \u2063state author and\u2064 Federalist Senior Contributor, Helen Raleigh, expressed concerns in The \u2062Wall\u2063 Street Journal about the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cbs-smears-ron-desantis-while-pete-buttigieg-gets-the-obama-treatment-from-ap\/\" title=\"CBS Smears Ron DeSantis While Pete Buttigieg Gets the Obama Treatment from AP\">potential dangers posed<\/a> by the introduction of these animals. Drawing parallels with the earlier reintroduction of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/federal-judge-rejects-cattle-industrys-pleas-reintroduction-process-of-predator-will-continue\/\" title=\"Judge denies cattle industry's request - predator reintroduction to proceed\">gray\u2062 wolves<\/a>, she highlighted fears regarding the safety of\u200c livestock and pets, pointing out that even areas near \u200dDenver could be affected, and stressing that wolverines are known as vicious predators \u2062capable of killing much larger animals.<\/p>\n<p>Governor Jared Polis of Colorado responded to Raleigh&#8217;s concerns with dismissive remarks on social media, suggesting that Coloradans\u200d are accustomed to living with wildlife and can handle it similarly to other wild animals like bears and mountain lions. He trivialized the concerns by advising the building of fences to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sally-c-pipes-dont-buy-progressives-medical-debt-myth\/\" title=\"Sally C. Pipes: Don't Buy Progressives' Medical Debt Myth\">protect personal property<\/a> like flowers from deer.<\/p>\n<p>The public discourse that followed included various criticisms of\u2063 Raleigh&#8217;s views, accusing her of exaggerating the threats\u2062 and misunderstanding the behavior of wildlife. \u2062Despite these, Raleigh maintained\u2062 her \u2063stance, pointing out that wolverines are capable predators which could pose real threats to local fauna and domestic animals.<\/p>\n<p>The discussion also featured comments on the costs of fencing for property owners in Colorado, emphasizing how expensive it could be, particularly for those in rural areas with extensive lands. Some individuals mocked Raleigh&#8217;s concerns by \u2064referencing historical or popular culture, while others dismissed \u2063her fears as baseless\u2064 compared to\u2064 the statistical likelihood of wolf \u2064attacks on \u2064humans.<\/p>\n<p>The conversation underscored the\u200d polarized views on \u2064wildlife conservation and the reintroduction of potentially dangerous species into populated \u200careas, reflecting broader debates on environmental and\u200c wildlife management policies.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>WARD, Colorado \u2014 Colorado\u2019s Democrat governor responded to a concerned constituent who wrote in The Wall Street Journal about wolverine introduction by telling the author to build a fence to save her pets.<\/p>\n<p>On Monday, Denver-area author and Federalist Senior Contributor Helen Raleigh published a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/jared-poliss-wolves-are-moving-in-on-denver-e2724758\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">letter<\/a> to the editor in the Journal warning about the potential consequences of bringing wolverines back to the state, a policy the governor approved.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-704166840\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-8c4dd0f61e454a5ad288d88d13f77d1a fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-8c4dd0f61e454a5ad288d88d13f77d1a\"><\/div>\n<p>\u201cColorado Gov. Jared Polis recently signed a bill to reintroduce the vicious weasel known as the wolverine to the state,\u201d Raleigh wrote. \u201cWhat could go wrong? Plenty, if Colorado\u2019s recent experience reintroducing the gray wolf is anything to go by.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Raleigh went on to highlight the myriad issues that came up when the state <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">brought back<\/a> gray wolves following the passage of a 2020 ballot initiative, where \u201cmost of the \u2018yes\u2019 votes came from urban counties\u201d such as Boulder and Denver. Residents in rural areas warned about the possible danger presented to livestock, tourists, and even the major cities. Gray wolves tracked with a GPS collar show they\u2019ve quickly moved within roughly 80 miles of Denver after they were brought back four years ago.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWolverines are small, at most 40 pounds, but don\u2019t let their size or their association with Hollywood heartthrob Hugh Jackman fool you. Wolverines are vicious killing machines,\u201d Raleigh wrote. \u201cThey have been known to destroy animals much bigger than they are, including black bears.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Polis replied to her concerns with a smug post on X, making a false comparison to the preexisting presence of bears and mountain lions \u201cin our backyards.\u201d So as Coloradans, we \u201cknow how to handle it.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-0df8d8c053041a807e63c9af9407acc8 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-0df8d8c053041a807e63c9af9407acc8\"><\/div>\n<p>\u201cYes we get people who move here from the cities and east coast and they complain about wildlife, but they learn how to deal with the realities of living in the west soon enough,\u201d he wrote. \u201cAnd yes, the deer will eat your tulips if you don\u2019t put up fencing.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"5zFIkot4cYlW5WrxdbYFQRJHDwArXTRzac6I3ek0vnuUeUCiEhsTOM7pwLN2gb8ZZnG2Hq40h9APEJVsB1fmgPSyKj\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">We grew up with bears and lions in our backyards and know how to handle it. Yes we get people who move here from the cities and east coast and they complain about wildlife, but they learn how to deal with the realities of living in the west soon enough. And yes, the deer will eat\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/AY1DwDc5gw\">https:\/\/t.co\/AY1DwDc5gw<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jaredpolis\/status\/1802312729488740850?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 16, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>But setting aside the condescension of telling a constituent to \u201cbuy a fence\u201d to protect her flowers from the \u201cdeer,\u201d let\u2019s take a look at how much it costs to border a \u201ctypical\u201d Colorado home. <\/p>\n<p>Homeowners in Denver typically <a href=\"https:\/\/homeguide.com\/costs\/fencing-prices#:~:text=Fence%20installation%20costs%20%244%2C000%20to,to%20%2454%2C000%20for%201%20acre.\">pay<\/a> up to roughly $4,000 for fence installation, with a cost of $13 to $56 for each linear foot of the perimeter, but they could pay as much as $54,000 per acre. Now expand that to ranchers in the rural communities, whose livelihoods are constantly threatened by wildlife, with an <a href=\"https:\/\/farmflavor.com\/colorado-agriculture\/#:~:text=The%20average%20size%20of%20a,and%20wheat%20following%20closely%20behind.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">average acreage<\/a> of more than 800. A rancher might not fence the entire property, but he\u2019d still be looking at spending thousands per acre and tens or hundreds of thousands overall.<\/p>\n<p>And yet, the governor\u2019s snarky reply pointlessly escalated what began as a good-faith policy debate into a controversy wherein Raleigh began to receive dumb attacks online. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-6b91f6c4ea603ae0ebc4098384222a9d fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-6b91f6c4ea603ae0ebc4098384222a9d\"><\/div>\n<p>\u201cWolverines and wolves are different,\u201d wrote one local radio host named Ross Kaminsky in a reply <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Rossputin\/status\/1802524244800135359\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">post<\/a>. \u201cPlus, wolverines saved the nation from a Soviet invasion if you remember your history.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The Soviet reference is to the 1984 drama \u201cRed Dawn\u201d in which a group of guerilla fighters in Colorado called themselves the \u201cWolverines.\u201d Kaminsky didn\u2019t even address Raleigh\u2019s arguments that wolverines are still uniquely deadly for both domesticated pets and livestock. <\/p>\n<p>Other random commentators decided to depict Raleigh as someone who hates wildlife simply because she had the audacity to write about how to protect her own animals.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you don\u2019t like wildlife, move to Chicago,\u201d someone <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SubstantionIgra\/status\/1802389166254166162\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But here\u2019s Raleigh admiring a giraffe. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"KTfjAP0EMqaV3epUY8N6iXhrg\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Appreciating my reader&#8217;s feedback today, while remembering that bad policy causes more harm than even the most ferocious animal (I do not mean giraffes \u2013 I love giraffes\ud83d\ude0d). <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/9o51MGvXMp\">https:\/\/t.co\/9o51MGvXMp<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Yu075Vbj3q\">pic.twitter.com\/Yu075Vbj3q<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Helen Raleigh (@HRaleighspeaks) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HRaleighspeaks\/status\/1802463920168337896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 16, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Wow, the image really captures the essence of a woman who despises nature. But in fact, Raleigh\u2019s letter was<em> in defense<\/em> of animals to begin with. Wolverines are opportunistic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.adfg.alaska.gov\/index.cfm?adfg=wolverine.printerfriendly#:~:text=Throughout%20the%20year%2C%20wolverines%20feed,but%20these%20occurrences%20are%20rare.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">predators<\/a> most commonly hunting voles, squirrels, snowshoe hares, and birds, but supposed environmentalists never care about the birds that so often end up cracked open in flight by the blades of massive <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/04\/07\/wind-power-company-fined-millions-after-it-pleads-guilty-to-killing-150-eagles\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wind turbines<\/a>. Wolverines can also kill moose and deer; and if they can take down giant moose at <a href=\"https:\/\/cpw.state.co.us\/learn\/Pages\/LivingwithWildlifeMoose.aspx#:~:text=Size%20%2D%20Colorado%27s%20Shiras%20moose%20(Alces,deer%2C%20elk%2C%20or%20pronghorn.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">12,000<\/a> pounds, they can tear apart sheep or even a dog far more efficiently than Kristi Noem can.<\/p>\n<p>But while Polis suggests Raleigh is being hyperbolic about the threats to her \u201cflowers,\u201d some poser in Boulder added that she should \u201cplease act like a journalist and do even a little bit of research before writing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere has [sic] only been two wolf attacks on a human in North America in the last 30 years,\u201d wrote some photographer named \u201cNate Luebbe.\u201d \u201cYou\u2019re more likely to die of an infected hangnail than a wolf.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"wUSsaHF7PWV4dAnloBk1JlDYgvehIMSh2oknTucEXbLwIetaKKNsR3fWYfiRdGipzrQZDx8\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Hi Helen, <\/p>\n<p>There has only been two wolf attacks on a human in North America in the last 30 years. You\u2019re more likely to die of an infected hangnail than a wolf. <\/p>\n<p>Please act like a journalist and do even a little bit of research before writing.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Nateinthewild | Nate Luebbe (@nateinthewild) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nateinthewild\/status\/1802335156050771986?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 16, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>But had Luebbe read Raleigh\u2019s letter in The Wall Street Journal, he might have recognized that Raleigh wasn\u2019t just talking about her neighbors\u2019 lives. She was also writing about family animals and commercial livestock.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlthough wolverines naturally prefer to live in snow-packed mountain habitats and aren\u2019t known to attack humans, the idea of a Coloradan going on a camping trip or a hike in the woods and encountering a wolverine \u2014 aka Satan\u2019s lap dog \u2014 should terrify Mr. Polis,\u201d she wrote. \u201cA single incident could be politically deadly for the second-term Democrat with national ambitions. When a wolverine showed up near a Canadian high school in 2016, the school was locked down and the students let out only after it was determined that the skunk bear had departed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And to the governor\u2019s point on Coloradans living harmoniously with bears and mountain lions with zero problems, it\u2019s not entirely true. Last summer, a 35-year-old sheepherder was \u201cseverely injured\u201d from a black bear <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbclosangeles.com\/news\/national-international\/sheepherder-is-severely-injured-when-black-bear-attacks-him-in-colorado-wilderness\/3188157\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">attack<\/a> in southwest Colorado. And in 2022, Colorado Parks and Wildlife <a href=\"https:\/\/kdvr.com\/news\/local\/bear-activity-increased-in-2022-trash-biggest-culprit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">received<\/a> more than 4,000 sighting and conflict reports of bears seeking out trash, beehives, livestock, crops, or vehicles, resulting in 94 bears being euthanized.<\/p>\n<p>Next door in Wyoming, ranchers have <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/08\/17\/the-feds-want-to-unleash-grizzly-bears-will-they-reintroduce-wolves-in-boston\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> significant issues related to a booming population of grizzly bears that remain protected under federal law despite surpassing their target recovery numbers. Captures and relocations of problematic bears nearly doubled from 2020 to 2021, and landowners are increasingly anxious about the threats to pets and livestock over near-constant sightings.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1983e44d6ba62e1c6f692437802139e5 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1983e44d6ba62e1c6f692437802139e5\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Colorado&#8217;s Democratic governor advised a constituent concerned about wolverine reintroduction to build a fence to protect her pets. Helen Raleigh, a Denver-area author and Federalist Senior Contributor, expressed her worries in a Wall Street Journal letter to the editor published on Monday<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":494,"featured_media":2270424,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Jared-Polis.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2270423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Jared-Polis.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2270423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/494"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2270423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2270423\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2270424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2270423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2270423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2270423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}