Western Slope wolf plan gets state OK

Wildlife commissioners hand proposal to CPW managers after two years of work

BY JASON BLEVINS THE COLORADO SUN

e Colorado Parks and Wildlife board of commissioners have approved a nal plan to restore wolves in Colorado.

Concluding two years of work — and hundreds of hours of meetings across the state — the commissioners unanimously approved a 301page plan to begin restoring wolves, as mandated by voters in November 2020.

Commissioner Dallas May said it was “morally imperative” for the commissioners to approve the plan and hand it o to CPW wildlife managers on schedule. e agency is on track to begin introducing wolves on the Western Slope by year’s end –per the voter mandate in November 2020 – even though there are many challenges ahead that threaten to derail that schedule.

“We now have the opportunity to place this in the hands of people who are absolutely the best team that can be assembled to enact it,” May said. “Is it a perfect plan? Probably not. It is an assemblage of giveand-take, of trying to nd the middle of the road. ere will be many things that we did not anticipate.

“ is is where the CPW team of dedicated professionals will begin their di cult and arduous task to ful ll their mission,” May said. “It is not our job to micromanage their work. Our job is to give them this plan and let them do what they do best.”

Gov. Jared Polis called the commission on May 3 to thank the agency’s sta and volunteer commissioners for what he called “a big lift.” e restoration will begin with introducing 30 to 50 gray wolves in the next three to ve years. e state proposes wintertime releases of captured wolves in two areas on the Western Slope: along the Inter- state 70 corridor between Glenwood Springs and Vail, and along the U.S. 50 corridor between Monarch Pass and Montrose. e rst releases are planned for state or private land around the I-70 corridor. e plan will allow ranchers who lose livestock to wolves to be compensated as much as $15,000 per animal. e plan outlines many nonlethal interventions to discourage wolves from killing livestock and it does allow the killing of wolves caught in the act of attacking livestock, saying both the stakeholder and technical groups viewed lethal management “as being critically important to a successful wolf management program.” e federal wildlife service has expedited its review and expects to issue a nal Environmental Impact Statement by December. Legislation introduced in the Colorado Senate in March — Senate Bill 256 — prohibits introduction of gray wolves in Colorado until that 10(j) analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act is complete.

Outgoing commissioner Carrie Besnette Hauser, the commission chair, said the nal approval “was a bit emotional” after months of healthy debate.

“I’m really proud of Colorado and I’m proud of all of you,” she said. e restoration plan was developed over two years of meetings with both a Technical Working Group and a Stakeholder Advisory Group. Colorado Parks and Wildlife also held 47 meetings that engaged with 3,400 residents. e plan calls for phased management that can be adjusted as wolf populations grow in the state.

As the state has planned restoration, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing an exemption under the Endangered Species Act that would establish wolves in Colorado as an experimental population. e so-called 10(j) rule allows exible management strategies, like allowing ranchers to kill wolves that are threatening livestock or people.

Mike Samson, a four-term Gar eld County commissioner, spoke during public comment before the agency’s commissioners began reviewing the nal plan, saying the wolf restoration was “Colorado voters attempting to be Mother Nature” and “ballot-box biology.” He urged the commissioners to allow lethal taking of wolves, pointing to Idaho, where lawmakers have approved legisla- tion allowing for killing up to 90% of the state’s estimated 1,500 wolves. ( e Colorado plan does not allow hunting, but the adaptive management strategy leaves open most management options in future years as wolf populations grow.)

“Wolves need to be legally hunted and trapped to keep their numbers in check,” Samson said.

Representatives for cattlemen groups urged the commissioners to approve compensation for ranchers who spend money on wolf mitigation, not just those who lose livestock to the predators.

Many public speakers asked the commissioners where they plan to get wolves to relocate into Colorado. e state’s plan calls for capturing wild gray wolves in Idaho, is story from e Colorado Sun, www.ColoradoSun.com. e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, which owns Colorado Community Media.

Montana and Wyoming. e draft plan says Colorado has “begun to explore an agreement” with the three states. A recent report by 9News quoted o cials in each state saying there were no discussions with Colorado about donating wolves. e draft plan also says Colorado “has also begun to explore an agreement” with Washington and Oregon. e 9News report also quoted o cials in Oregon and Washington saying they were not working with Colorado on sourcing wolves for restoration in the state.