In this tale, the wolf is letter writer Cassidy Brush (“Why a wolf advocate would oppose reintroduction”), who, cloaked in the guise of compassion, purports to oppose wolf restoration to prevent wolves from being harmed.

Evidence and facts, as always, are important when fishing for herring.

More than 25 years of scientific evidence from gray wolf restoration in the Northern Rockies proves the most important factor contributing to wolf recovery is large areas of public lands that provide secure wolf habitat. Western Colorado has at least 17 million acres of mostly Alpine public lands.

Another important factor is legal protection: Wolves in Colorado would be protected by both federal and state Endangered Species Act listing.

And then there’s Proposition 114, which directs Colorado Parks and Wildlife to manage wolves as a nongame species. Wolves that are protected from human hunting maintain more stable family groups and are thus better at restoring a natural, dynamic balance by moderating elk populations and initiating trophic cascades.