Repopulation of wolves in Colorado
Voters narrowly approved a November 2020 ballot measure that directed the commission that oversees CPW to develop a plan to begin to reintroduce wolves by the end of 2023, somewhere on the Western Slope.
The wolves would be managed and designated as a non-game species, meaning they cannot be hunted, with fair compensation being offered for any livestock killed by the predators.
As part of the reintroduction effort, the federal government in 2023 granted Colorado the authority to manage and kill wolves in specific circumstances.
Extirpation was caused by the decimation of the wolf's main prey species like bison, the expansion of agriculture, and extermination campaigns during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
[3] These efforts included state bounties, which, at times, offered upwards of $1,000 for wolf pelts—significant income for ranchers and trappers as settlers perceived wolves as threats to livestock and human safety.
[23] F1084 (originally mislabeled as M1084),[24] from the Snake River Pack in Wyoming, wandered more than 350 miles (560 km) into Colorado before her tracking collar went dead.
The study also found that the media in Colorado reflected the concerns of those who might have their livelihoods impacted because of the loss of hunting opportunities, and potential for wolf predation on livestock.
[33] After the petition was certified in early 2020, commissioners in several counties on the Western Slope passed resolutions opposing reintroduction of the animals.
[37] CPW, which is overseen by the commission, began public outreach to gather input as the details of the plan such as management strategies, were needed to be worked out by the state agency.
[41][42] Passage of the referendum was opposed by many cattle ranchers, elk hunters, farmers and others in rural areas that argue wolf reintroduction is bad policy which will threaten the raising of livestock and a $1 billion hunting industry.
[11][43] It was vital to ranchers that effective mechanisms are in place ahead of time to ensure fair sharing of the economic burdens that wolves generate.
[45] While multiple studies have shown local declines in big game populations caused by wolves, other limiting factors such as severe winters, drought, other predators, or human hunting have acted in conjunction.
[49] The Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan Summer 2021 Public Engagement Report was released in November 2021, by Keystone Policy Center.
[51] The Technical Working Group, composed of elected officials from the Western Slope, CPW personnel and wolf experts involved in previous restoration efforts, focused on outlining the plan's conservation objectives and released an initial report in November with recommendations.
[53] In July, fourteen wildlife advocacy groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity, WildEarth Guardians, the Colorado Sierra Club and the Humane Society of the U.S. issued a 26-page plan with alternative protocol for the reintroduction.
[54] Their plan included a wolf population goal, reintroduction areas, compensation for lost livestock and other management guidelines that the state had yet to fully address.
[56] Possible impacts on cattle that have become aware and afraid of nearby wolves and other predators include lost weight, lower conception rates, or injury from trying to hide.
[66] The goal of the plan is "to recover and maintain a viable, self-sustaining wolf population in Colorado, while concurrently working to minimize wolf-related conflicts with domestic animals, other wildlife, and people".
[66] Compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act would have been required to release wolves on federal land which the state would be unable to complete before the voter mandated deadline.
[89] A study in 2022 showed that, based on the vote on the reintroduction ballot initiative and other factors, southwest Colorado would be a more welcoming area than other places with suitable wolf habitat.
[92] Wolves tend to move after reintroduction so they will be released at least 60 miles (97 km) from the border with Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico, as well as Southern Ute tribal lands in southwest Colorado minimizing the risk of the animal immediately migrating into other jurisdictions.
[99] This northern preferred release area is within an oval around this corridor that roughly includes the rugged mountains and lush valleys between Rifle, Aspen, Silverthorne and Kremmling.
[105] Colorado wildlife officials released the wolves the next day onto public land in a remote forest in Grand County at an undisclosed location.
[109] CPW reached an agreement with the British Columbia Ministry of Water, Lands and Resource Stewardship in Canada in September 2024 to source wolves for the second round of reintroductions.
[118] CPW began working with ranchers in North Park in January 2022 after a wolf pack, that likely migrated in from Wyoming, killed livestock and a dog.
[119] The North Park basin in Colorado's north-central mountains saw the first payment made through the Game Damage Program which can also include prevention materials.
[122] About 3 miles (4.8 km) of fladry was set up around part of the Gittleson pasture by neighbors and U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services employees, consisting of a thin electric wire fence with flags.
[127] CPW staff provided wild burros in late February from the Nevada high country that were available for adoption to a rancher who experienced depredation, and has been piloting these various methods.
[132] In late January-early February 2023, CPW used confirmed reports of wolf sightings from the public and a fixed-wing plane to look for wolves in order to collar two members of the North Park pack.
[139] There is a feeling among ranchers in the counties with release sites that the state added wolves to their existing concerns about the safety of their cattle when they were already dealing with coyotes, mountain lions and occasional bears.
