NOTE: This article makes extensive use of information from a December 2 story by Sam Brasch on CPR.org.
Two years ago, Colorado voters approved a ballot measure, Proposition 114, directing the state to reintroduce gray wolves. The voters instructed state wildlife managers to release wolves somewhere on Colorado’s Western Slope by the end of 2023, and to offer fair compensation for any livestock killed by the predators.
The proposal was popular along the Front Range and received much less support in rural areas.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) subsequently held nearly 50 public hearings across the state and convened two citizen panels to offer policy advice: a Technical Working Group to offer scientific suggestions, and a Stakeholder Working Group to consider the social impacts of wolf reintroduction.
The working groups offered recommendations on a range of topics — where the state should get wolves, how many should be released, and how to compensate ranchers for lost livestock.
CPW will release a first public draft of its wolf management plan this Friday, December 9. The public will be able to read the draft report on this website, https://engagecpw.org/hub-page/wolf-engagement, and offer comments there.
Additional public hearings will follow before the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission approves a final version in spring 2023.
Wildlife officials have told commissioners they plan to release the first batch of wolves next winter – likely into the region surrounding Gunnison and Glenwood Springs.
In July, fourteen conservation organizations, including WildEarth Guardians, published their own plan for wolf restoration in the state, saying that the Colorado Parks and Wildlife process had focused too much on the negative impacts of wolves and stakeholders who oppose their reintroduction, and not enough on scientific evidence about the best way forward for the state’s future wolf population.
The original ballot initiative didn’t specify how many wolves Colorado should reintroduce or how many it should aim for in the long run. In its report released in August, the Technical Working Group advised a “medium” reintroduction pace, defined as 10 to 15 wolves released each year for two to three years, and that the wolves be relocated from Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, or some combination of those three northern Rocky Mountain states. The working group noted those states have both large wolf populations and negative public attitudes toward the predators, leading to aggressive hunting measures to reduce wolf populations.
In Colorado, wolves are listed as both a federal and state endangered species. Under both laws, anyone who kills a wolf inside the state’s borders faces a $100,000 fine, up to a year in prison and could see their hunting privileges revoked. The state has asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for a permit that would give Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) more control over the reintroduction process.
The Stakeholder Advisory Group included a statement in its report advising CPW against taking any position on public hunting, saying the topic should only be considered if and when wolves achieve a sustainable population.
In July, fourteen conservation organizations, including WildEarth Guardians, announced their own plan for wolf restoration in the state, saying that the Colorado Parks and Wildlife process had focused too much on the negative impacts of wolves and stakeholders who oppose their reintroduction, and not enough on scientific evidence about the best way forward for the state’s future wolf population.
Colorado has an existing program to pay ranchers the market value of any livestock lost to wolves and other wildlife. but the Stakeholder Advisory Group considered alternative compensation plans to pay ranchers for any additional costs of raising livestock near wolves. One compensation plan would allow livestock producers to itemize financial losses and recover those costs from the state. That would provide an avenue for ranchers to claim the value of lost animals plus extra losses due to lower weight gain or lower conception rates.