Troubled wolf program faces calls for reforms
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Republican lawmakers are seeking a pause in Colorado's efforts to reintroduce wolves into the wild.
Why it matters: The request comes as wolf advocates and opponents unite in frustration over how Gov. Jared Polis' administration has botched the reintroduction of wolves in the first year of the effort.
State of play: Three of the 10 wolves released last December are now dead and a mother and four pups in the Copper Creek pack are being held indefinitely in captivity after repeated livestock kills.
- The pack's male wolf died in captivity from an infection related to a leg injury, but officials never intended to re-release him because he was deemed too dangerous to ranchers' livestock.
- Native American tribes and western states have rejected Colorado's requests for more wolves to continue the reintroduction.
What they're saying: GOP lawmakers and ranchers want the state to reconsider its plans to add more wolves to the northern parts of Colorado. Ranchers even appealed to the federal government to stop the Polis administration.
- "The relief … provided to livestock producers in the Williams Fork Valley will be short-lived if the agency does not learn from its mistakes and take proactive measures to prevent this situation from reoccurring," Middle Park president Tim Ritschard said in a statement.
Between the lines: Republican state Rep. Matt Soper, who represents a rural district on the Western Slope, has sought to block more wolves from being put on the ground in Colorado. He said the problems go deeper than the threats to ranchers and the financial loss incurred.
- "This isn't just about wolves, it's about the disconnect between policy made in Denver and the realities on the ground in rural Colorado," Soper said in a statement earlier this week.
The other side: Colorado Parks and Wildlife leaders don't appear willing to slow their timeline.
- The state struck a deal with the Canadian province of British Columbia to secure up to 15 wolves for reintroduction as early as December.
The intrigue: The Polis administration also announced this week it would hire two field specialists to work with ranchers on non-lethal conflict reduction — a move that comes after more than two dozen livestock killings through the end of July.