Costello: The unintended consequences of Proposition 127
By Mike Costello | Commentary, Westword
Coloradans, I’m writing to you from California, where mountain lion hunting is illegal because of ballot-box biology. The idea of saving mountain lions and bobcats feels noble. They are magnificent critters, and supremely effective at making a living on the landscape (killing prey). We all love wild landscapes filled with diverse wildlife, including elusive and sometimes scary apex predators. While revered and respected for millennia, it is also true that humans have hunted, harvested and managed these animals as part of our own participation in the natural world.
I call upon you: Do NOT abandon what works for wildlife in your great state. Ecosystems are incredibly complex, while Proposition 127 is a blunt-force solution for a problem that does...