Time to get nerdy!
With two wolf sightings reported by Colorado Parks and Wildlife this week, it’s as good a time as any to talk about America’s most revered (and by some, hated) predator. For our July installment of the Outdoor Nerds Unite Speaker Series, we welcome Ben Monarch to discuss wolves and wolf policy.
Where: FERAL 3936 Denver, CO 80211
When: Thursday, July 18th 7 PM
This series takes an academic look at adventure and environmental related themes. FERAL is bringing together thought leaders from a myriad of fields, and outdoor junkies for experimental conversations on varying topics. Each month we will bring in a different speaker to share their expertise with the outdoor community.
More about the talk and the speaker:
Revered by some and hated by many, wolves have shaped the political, legal, economic, and ecological landscape of the American West. Wolves were abundant here in the early 1900s, but by the mid-1900s they were extinct. In the 1990s, they began their return in the Northern Rockies, and today wolves inhabit a vast territory that stretches from the Arctic Circle down into Mexico. The only section of that 3,000 mile-plus range without wolves is Colorado, but that could soon change.
This talk will be about the history of the wolf and its ties to our state. We’ll talk about the ecological benefits of wolves in the American West and the political controversy surrounding their reintroduction in Colorado and our neighboring states. We’ll answer questions like whether wolves are dangerous or whether they even roam our trails. We’ll talk about how wolves restored Yellowstone National Park, and how they could similarly enhance Colorado’s environment. After this talk you should have a clearer understanding of why wolves matter and how they might impact Colorado in the not-too-distant future.
Ben Monarch, J.D./ LL.M., will lead our discussion of wolves and wolf policy in North America; he will pay particular attention to the possible reintroduction of wolves to our state in the coming years. Ben is an attorney and an avid outdoorsman. He spent several years in government and the private sector before deciding to pivot his legal career toward his love for the environment and the wildlife that inhabits it. To further this interest he obtained an advanced legal degree in environmental law at the University of Denver, with specialized focus on wildlife law. Of the various animals that call North America home, none have captured his imagination quite like wolves. He has worked on wolf protection litigation and wolf reintroduction policy. His work has touched on the collapsing genetic diversity of Mexican Gray Wolves to the ecological benefits of returning wolves to Rocky Mountain National Park. Ben lives in the Boulder area and can be found most weekends hiking in search of wildlife.
