Q&A on Wildlife With Jason Clay
I interviewed Jason Clay, the Public Information Officer for Colorado Parks and Wildlife in Denver. I spoke with Clay on the phone about how humans have been encroaching on the surrounding animals territory here in Colorado. Some of his responsibilities include informing the public about the parks and wildlife through social media, reporting, and educational messages. He has over 12 years of experience in marketing and public relations.
Q1) Maya: How did you get into this field of work?
Jason Clay: Well originally I was studying Economics at CU Boulder, and then I started working at the Athletics Department. I liked working with the public relations aspect of it and then someone introduced a parks program to me and it peaked my interest. And now I’ve been in this department for a little over a year now, and I really enjoy it.
Q2) Maya: What are some of the major consequences of urban development and human expansion in terms of the wildlife?
Jason Clay: Well as the population continues to grow here in Colorado at a fast rate, some of the biggest problems here are disruptions of migration patterns and changing habitats.
Q3) Maya: What can communities do to try and coexist peacefully with the animals?
Jason Clay: Let the wildlife live naturally, leave them alone, planting native vegetation is a really great way to give back to them as a natural food source. NEVER feed the animals because this can lead to disease transmission and even death. Often times animals will get too comfortable around humans and they will have to be euthanized because then they pose a possible threat to humans.
Q4) Maya: What kinds of animals are the most affected by encroachment?
Jason Clay: For starters, deer and elk because their migration patterns are disrupted. You can find deer pretty much all over the place and in towns or neighborhoods. They have a really strong population presence. Coyotes also are affected. In general, people are affected as well and their pets too because there is a higher chance of potential conflict with the wildlife. But there are a lot of other smaller animals that can adapt really well to the growth, like squirrels and raccoons.
Q5) Maya: What are some of the long term effects of this?
Jason Clay: So it disrupts their natural behavior, there’s a lack of shelter, and they don’t have room to travel as far because their habitats have shrunk. They aren’t using the same habitat as before, so they now have to adjust to a new habitat. They have to go through town, which causes disruption on both ends. And the populations here are much denser and not as spread out.
Q6) Maya: How difficult is it to build on an open space of land?
Jason Clay: It depends where you look because the land management agency, city counties, and forest management have specific policies. For Larimer county, I know that they have strong open space programs.
Q7) Maya: Do you know of any other states that struggle with this problem too?
Jason Clay: Alaska probably has it, but they still have a lot of land to work with.. New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, California, and Texas are all most likely dealing with these issues too.
