Wolf Reintroduction Impacts Ranchers While Schools Need Protection

On this Thursday, April 6, 2023 broadcast, Kim Monson examines the consequences of Colorado’s wolf reintroduction initiative with western slope stakeholders, explores how state housing policies are affecting property rights, and hears from a military and law enforcement veteran about real solutions to protect children in schools.

Protecting Children in Schools

Start listening at 74:28 – Hour 2

Yvonne Paez, co-founder of Perspectives 101, Army veteran, and former police officer who trained military SRT (Special Reaction Team) units equivalent to civilian SWAT teams, provides expert analysis on school safety following the Nashville shooting. Paez creates a vivid illustration asking listeners to imagine a pile of firearms and commanding them to act, demonstrating that guns are inanimate objects incapable of self-action.

Paez explains that the real problem is identifying the human factors: deranged individuals, psychotropic drug use, troubled family life, and mental instability. She references the book “Why Meadow Died” by Andrew Pollack, whose daughter was killed at Parkland, documenting the systemic failures that allowed that tragedy. The long-term solution involves raising better human beings with good values, while the immediate solution requires hardening schools with armed security, trained staff, and removing gun-free zone signs that advertise vulnerability.

“Guns are inanimate objects, incapable of self-action. And this, folks, is real life. It is not a toy story movie. So the problem here is if we are barking up the wrong tree, we are failing to identify the real problem and by extension, the solutions to the problem.”

Yvonne Paez, Army Veteran and Former Police Officer

Paez connects Colorado’s policy allowing 12-year-olds to consent to psychotropic drugs without parental knowledge to the broader issue of parental rights, noting the rally happening at the Capitol that day for Colorado Parents. She emphasizes that programs like Laura Carno’s FASTER Colorado provide firearms training specific to school staff who want to be protectors.

School Resource Officers and Law Enforcement Canine Protection

Start listening at 20:02 – Hour 1

Ryan Armagost, Colorado State Representative for House District 64, joins Kim to discuss critical legislation moving through the Colorado legislature. Representative Armagost explains Senate Bill 70, which would require training for school resource officers rather than merely encouraging it. The bill addresses the Safe2Tell reporting system and the need for law enforcement presence in schools.

Armagost also introduces House Bill 1286, legislation designed to protect law enforcement working animals including K-9 officers and horses. Following the recent loss of a Jefferson County canine officer, this bill would raise penalties for crimes against these working animals. With over 600 bills proposed in the Colorado legislature this session, Armagost notes the ongoing fight against legislation that undermines conservative values.

“We are definitely in a fight against the left. They’ve been trying to silence us on a lot of our movements in any legislation and against the really horrific legislation that’s being pushed by the left.”

Ryan Armagost, Colorado State Representative

Wolf Reintroduction and the Western Slope

Start listening at 29:58 – Hour 1

Lisa Bennett, entrepreneur and owner of Wild Skies luxury cabin rental on the Western Slope, and Jennifer Burby, President of the Colorado Outfitters Association, discuss the implementation of Proposition 114, the wolf reintroduction initiative passed by Colorado voters. Bennett explains that Senate Bill 255 would create a wolf depredation compensation fund, while Senate Bill 256 addresses gray wolf management, and House Bill 1265 would create a “Born to be Wild” license plate to fund compensation.

Burby, who served on the Parks and Wildlife Stakeholder Advisory Group for 15 months, explains that the initiative placed wolves west of the Continental Divide where livestock and wildlife populations are concentrated. She describes the “rewilding” philosophy held by some advocates who envision nature without human interaction, noting the naivety of believing wolves will only impact ungulate populations without affecting livestock or human communities.

“We have six, almost six million people in this state. And we have more than that livestock. The thought that the wolves will not be interacting with those, it was naive. And it’s not fair for the people, it’s not fair for the stock, and it’s not fair for the wolf, really.”

Jennifer Burby, President, Colorado Outfitters Association

Bennett emphasizes the slim margins ranchers operate under and the multiple fronts they face, from property taxes to environmental groups outbidding them for BLM grazing rights. She notes that many ranches lack basic infrastructure like transmission-line electricity, and the generational challenges of keeping family ranches operational.

“Ranches by themselves are very difficult to keep afloat financially, especially when you consider the increase in property taxes. That can be insurmountable for ranchers unless they augment their livelihoods through other means.”

Lisa Bennett, Owner, Wild Skies

Property Rights and Housing Policy

Start listening at 63:25 – Hour 2

Karen Levine, award-winning realtor with RE/MAX Alliance, discusses the state of Colorado’s real estate market during the spring season. Levine explains how government policies, including artificially low interest rates that locked homeowners into 3% mortgages, have created inventory shortages as people cannot economically move when rates are at 6%.

Levine addresses Senate Bill 213, the 105-page land use bill that has prompted opposition from municipalities including Lone Tree. She notes that local governments are pushing back against state overreach into planning and zoning decisions, recognizing that they themselves do not want to be overreached just as citizens do not. The conversation highlights the push for rental units over ownership units and the World Economic Forum’s vision of people owning nothing.

“The push for rent is going to continue to happen, as we discussed, as we’ve been discussing for years, that the World Economic Forum thinks we shouldn’t own anything.”

Karen Levine, REMAX Alliance Realtor