Social, political issues will be harder to manage than animals as wolf recovery rolls out on the Western Slope starting in 2024 , Colorado species conservation program boss says
wolf reintroduction
Wolf reintroduction offers chance to support intensely endangered subspecies, wildlife advocates argue
Colorado Parks and Wildlife is still sorting out where to gather wolves for reintroduction as the first draft of its plan goes public. Some say that plan should consider the endangered Mexican gray wolf.
Conservation groups offer alternate plan for Colorado wolf reintroduction that limits killing after livestock losses
A group of wildlife advocates is blasting Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s wolf reintroduction process, saying the intent of the voter-approved proposition has been “lost or undermined.” Since voters in November 2020 approved Proposition 114 directing the state to craft a plan and reintroduce wolves on the Western Slope by the end of 2023, CPW has […]
Opinion: Let the wolves regulate themselves
As the State of Colorado drafts its plan for the reintroduction of gray wolves to western Colorado, the livestock industry is already clamoring for “lethal control” of wolves that take to hunting cattle or sheep. However, killing wolves in response to cattle or sheep predation does not prevent — or even reduce — future livestock […]
Opinion: While we’re at it, we also should re-introduce wolverines to Colorado
Colorado film fans who have seen Red Dawn might recall the thrilling and defiant cry: “Wolverines!” They may also recall that the story’s setting — in the 1984 release of the film — was their own state. Wolverines — the actual animals — could soon reclaim their place in Colorado, too, making this comeback the […]
Wolf attacks continue on North Park cows as rancher fights for compensation and hazing methods fail
Don Gittleson was sitting in his pickup at 2:30 a.m. when he heard a cow and calf calling to each other, a nervous mooing and a commotion in the dark. The Walden rancher started up the engine and began wildly honking the horn as he drove through the pasture toward the noise, where he spotted […]
New wolf attack in North Park puts cattle ranchers back on edge as reintroduction looms
Wolves attacked another cow this week outside of Walden, where ranchers have been on alert since a string of attacks on cattle earlier this winter. Ranch hands at the State Line Ranch, between Walden in far northwest Colorado and the Wyoming state line, put down an 8-year-old pregnant cow after finding her bloodied and unable […]
Colorado Parks and Wildlife is dusting off a plan to reintroduce wolverines
As Colorado Parks and Wildlife maps out wolf reintroduction, the agency is considering how to support wolverines, revisiting a stalled plan to reintroduce the rare carnivore in the state. The last time wildlife officials confirmed a wolverine in Colorado was June 2009, when a male, — tagged with a radio collar in Grand Teton National […]
Opinion: It’s not ranchers or wolves. It’s ranchers AND wolves
With or without Proposition 114, a few gray wolves are now back in a small part of northern Colorado. Whether they will be welcomed for the longer term is the question. Recent predations of livestock in northwestern Colorado by some of these wolves has many producers on edge. But predation by carnivores is nothing new. […]
Carman: Face it Colorado, no matter how wolves are reintroduced, there will be blood
The margin was only 1%, but the outcome was dramatic. Voters, mostly from the Front Range, endorsed Proposition 114 to reintroduce wolves in Colorado beginning in 2023. The campaigns on both sides were heated. Then, once the votes were tallied and the measure squeaked by, most city folk moved on to think about other things, […]