{"id":2455077,"date":"2020-02-27T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-27T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=321647"},"modified":"2020-02-27T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-02-27T07:00:00","slug":"wolf-reintroduction-vote-program-becoming-emotional-issue-for-some-colorado-residents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/wolf-reintroduction-vote-program-becoming-emotional-issue-for-some-colorado-residents\/","title":{"rendered":"Wolf reintroduction vote, program becoming emotional issue for some Colorado residents"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.7458100558659\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-321647-891\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wolves-atd-022620-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wolves-atd-022620-1-1024x736.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Colorado Parks and Wildlife | Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials found this trail of wolf tracks in Moffat County in mid-January. They also heard distinct howls and believe there are six wolves in the pack.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"9\">\n<p><strong>Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials found this trail of wolf tracks in Moffat County in mid-January. They also heard distinct howls and believe there are six wolves in the pack.<\/strong><br \/>Colorado Parks and Wildlife<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wolves-atd-022620-1-1024x736.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials found this trail of wolf tracks in Moffat County in mid-January. They also heard distinct howls and believe there are six wolves in the pack.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wolves-atd-022620-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wolves-atd-022620-1-1-1024x720.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Elizabeth Stewart-Severy\/Aspen Journalism | Bill Fales and Marj Perry raise cattle near Carbondale. They fear that the presence of wolves in Colorado would come with a significant economic hit to their ranching operations.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"9\">\n<p><strong>Bill Fales and Marj Perry raise cattle near Carbondale. They fear that the presence of wolves in Colorado would come with a significant economic hit to their ranching operations.<\/strong><br \/>Elizabeth Stewart-Severy\/Aspen Journalism<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wolves-atd-022620-1-1-1024x720.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Bill Fales and Marj Perry raise cattle near Carbondale. They fear that the presence of wolves in Colorado would come with a significant economic hit to their ranching operations.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wolves-atd-022620-1-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wolves-atd-022620-1-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"John and Karen Hollingsworth, USFWS\/ Courtesy photo | Gray wolves were extirpated from Colorado in the 1930s, but a pack was recently spotted in the northwest corner of the state. In November, voters in the state will decide on a measure to reintroduce gray wolves.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"12\">\n<p><strong>Gray wolves were extirpated from Colorado in the 1930s, but a pack was recently spotted in the northwest corner of the state. In November, voters in the state will decide on a measure to reintroduce gray wolves.<\/strong><br \/>John and Karen Hollingsworth, USFWS\/ Courtesy photo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wolves-atd-022620-1-2.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Gray wolves were extirpated from Colorado in the 1930s, but a pack was recently spotted in the northwest corner of the state. In November, voters in the state will decide on a measure to reintroduce gray wolves.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wolves-atd-022620-1-3-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wolves-atd-022620-1-3-1024x762.jpg\" data-sub-html=\" | \" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wolves-atd-022620-1-3-1024x762.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/wolf-reintroduction-vote-program-becoming-emotional-issue-for-some-colorado-residents\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/wolf-reintroduction-vote-program-becoming-emotional-issue-for-some-colorado-residents\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Since Colorado\u2019s last wild wolves were killed in the 1930s, a few lone animals have been spotted in the state. So, when a pack was spotted in northwest Colorado \u2014 several months before Colorado voters decide whether they\u2019ll support a bill to reintroduce gray wolves to the state \u2014 it wasn\u2019t a total surprise to Carbondale ecologist Delia Malone.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt does give life to the idea that Colorado has ample suitable habitat for wolves,\u201d said Malone, a member of the science advisory team for the Rocky Mountain Wolf Project, which hopes to re-establish a sustainable population of wolves in Colorado.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Malone and Colorado wildlife officials agree that the rural northwest corner of the state is well suited for wolves. CPW isn\u2019t releasing the pack\u2019s exact location, but agency spokeswoman Lauren Truitt says there is plenty of prey and room to roam.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWith Colorado not having any wolf presence, there\u2019s not a whole lot of competition for them, so it\u2019s very likely that they\u2019ll hang around,\u201d Truitt said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">CPW biologists used DNA testing on four scat samples, which revealed there are at least three females and one male in the pack, and those wolves are all closely related, probably as full siblings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThat does not mean there\u2019s a sustainable population of wolves in Colorado,\u201d Malone said. \u201cA sustainable, recovered population is a population that is ecologically effective in their role to restore natural balance; they\u2019re well distributed throughout Colorado; they\u2019re well connected. And six little wolves is not that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Malone says her work as an ecologist gives her a clear view that Colorado needs wolves.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cOur ecosystems are not in great shape,\u201d Malone said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The combination of a warming climate and lack of predators has reduced the resilience of Colorado\u2019s aspen forests and other habitats. Malone said the presence of wolves has tremendous benefits, including improving water availability in the driest months of the year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201c(Wolves) move the elk so that they don\u2019t overgraze, so that there\u2019s willow left for the beavers to build their dams, to store their water, to supply streamflows in the late summer season,\u201d Malone said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Malone and others point to the ecological benefits seen after wolf recovery in Yellowstone National Park as a model. The National Park Service says that without pressure from predators such as wolves, the elk population grew far beyond what was sustainable. The number of elk has since reached healthier levels.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">Polls show support for reintroduction<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">While a pack sighting indicates the possibility of wolves returning to western Colorado on their own, there are also two potential paths to reintroduction.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Sen. Kerry Donovan (D-Vail) in January introduced to the state Legislature a bill that would take cautious steps toward wolf reintroduction, potentially beginning in 2025.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In November, voters will decide on Initiative 107, which would require CPW to create a plan to reintroduce and manage gray wolves by the end of 2023. The Rocky Mountain Wolf Project has been working for years on a plan that would fully restore wolves to Colorado.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cVast areas that are rugged and remote without humans are the ideal reintroduction sites,\u201d Malone said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Rocky Mountain Wolf Project identified several potential reintroduction sites, including the Flat Tops Wilderness north of Glenwood Springs; Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests; Weminuche Wilderness in San Juan National Forest; and Carson National Forest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Gray wolves are currently listed as a protected species under the Endangered Species Act, which gives management authority to the federal government. Last year, the federal government petitioned to remove those protections and declare wolves recovered. That would mean that CPW would be in charge of management.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">If Initiative 107 passes and gray wolves remain listed under the ESA and, therefore, under federal management, Truitt says the next steps are unclear.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThe ballot initiative instructs the commission to develop and implement a plan for reintroduction, but is silent as to what CPW is supposed to do if it has no authority to reintroduce or manage wolves,\u201d she wrote in an email.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">There is strong support across the state for wolf reintroduction. In an online survey conducted by Colorado State University professor Rebecca Niemiec, 84% of respondents intended to vote for wolf reintroduction.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">Herd instinct and ranching changes<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Jose Miranda raises water buffaloes, mostly for dairy, in Old Snowmass. He says it would be silly to think that wolves won\u2019t change his operations, but he still plans to vote for reintroduction.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cMy position is that morally, it\u2019s the right thing to do,\u201d Miranda said. \u201cOn the verge of so many species that are facing extinction, if we can do something to help some of them, we just have to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Miranda acknowledges that wolves would mean major changes for many ranchers, particularly those whose use permits to graze cattle on U.S. Forest Service land. Those permit areas tend to be large, with animals spread out across the landscape rather than gathered in herds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Longtime Carbondale ranchers Bill Fales and Marj Perry use a Forest Service permit to graze up to 900 head of cattle each year in the summer and fall.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Perry has been researching ranchers\u2019 experiences across the West, and she worries that wolf predation would be particularly severe during two times of the year: calving season, when wolves tend to hang out lower in the valleys and there are an abundance of calves available; and early fall, when wolf pups are learning to hunt.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s a lot easier to learn to hunt a calf than a deer or elk,\u201d Perry said, adding that their cattle are spread out on Forest Service lands during that time of year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Researchers and ranchers have identified ways to minimize the loss of cattle to wolves and other predators. Matt Barnes, a rangeland and wildlife conservationist and a former rancher, says ranchers who use strategic grazing \u2014 a process in which cattle are moved from one pasture to another and work is done to encourage herd behavior \u2014 lose very few animals to predators.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIf they bunch up and stand their ground, the vast majority of the time, they all survive,\u201d Barnes said. \u201cA lone prey animal out there is kinda easy pickings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Wolves hunt by forcing their prey to run and attacking from the sides. That\u2019s how they are able to kill animals that are four times their weight. But researchers think wolves are only successful about 15% of the time, and much of their success depends on how the prey behave \u2014 namely, if they gather in a herd.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThere is something magic about that herd effect,\u201d Barnes said. \u201cIt\u2019s prey animals\u2019 primary anti-predator behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Cattle \u2014 indeed, all kinds of prey \u2014 can move the weakest members of the herd to the middle, and defend themselves using their hooves.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Miranda, who raises water buffaloes, thinks his animals stand a pretty good chance against wolves because of their herding behavior.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI know that the water buffaloes that I have are probably going to have a better instinct protecting themselves and the younger animals as far as protecting themselves against a pack of wolves,\u201d Miranda said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">But Perry and Fales say the landscape where their cattle graze make herding up very difficult. There aren\u2019t many open fields on the Forest Service land where their permit is, and there\u2019s also limited access to water.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe try to not have the cattle in a big bunch in order not to hammer the riparian areas,\u201d Perry said. \u201cOur whole strategy has been to keep cattle strung out. And so far, it seems like it\u2019ll be really hard to remedy that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Wolf advocates also say range riders can help minimize losses; a rider who is out with the cattle daily can watch for injured or weakened cows or calves that might become targets and keep an eye out for wolves. But Fales doesn\u2019t think that would work, either, especially with the challenges of finding reliable labor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe do a lot of range riding. There\u2019s never a day when there\u2019s not someone out there,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it would be totally insufficient to manage for wolves.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The management strategy that Perry and Fales think would work in their situation is one that currently isn\u2019t an option in Colorado: killing the problem wolves that prey on cattle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThe only thing I would really advocate for would be lethal control,\u201d Perry said. \u201cYou can\u2019t have wolves without forevermore killing them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Killing wolves is illegal in Colorado because the species has federal protection under the ESA, but the future of that status is uncertain. Some ranchers, including Miranda, are hopeful that reintroduction would mean a larger voice in how wolves are managed than if the animals return to the state on their own.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cSome of these programs are very progressive,\u201d Miranda said. \u201cAs long as there\u2019s that kind of help and communication, that\u2019s very fortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In fact, the CSU survey found that nearly 80% of people who identify as ranchers intend to vote for reintroduction. The online survey asked respondents a series of questions about how officials could manage wolves \u2014 including lethal control and compensation for ranchers for lost livestock \u2014 before asking whether people support the ballot initiative.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The initiative does not include any promise of lethal control, and management depends on a series of questions \u2014 namely, if wolves are removed from protections under the ESA. Even then, Barnes said control measures need to be carefully executed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cFor lethal control to make sense, it\u2019s got to be targeted to the specific individuals that are involved in the conflict,\u201d Barnes said. \u201cPreemptive lethal control does not work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Also, he said, the number of cattle and sheep actually killed by wolves in states such as Montana and Wyoming is surprisingly low.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In Montana in 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the loss of 71 livestock \u2014 64 cattle and seven sheep \u2014 and two dogs to wolves. The USDA received 93 complaints of wolves killing livestock that year, while the state was home to an estimated 2.55 million cattle, 225,000 sheep and 819 wolves.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The numbers are similar in Wyoming, where wolves are considered \u201cpredatory animals\u201d in most of the state, meaning they can be killed at will. In 2018, wolves were confirmed to have killed 71 head of livestock: 55 cattle, 15 sheep and 1 horse.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\"> Initiative 107 includes direction for the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission to create a plan to compensate for livestock lost to wolves. Similar plans exist in other Western states, including Montana, where the state paid $82,959 to 40 livestock owners.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Funding for such a program in Colorado would come from an existing wildlife cash fund.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">If Initiative 107 passes, Perry says she might quit. And her husband, Fales, thinks others might follow suit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI think a lot of people will quit, and certainly in this part of Colorado, there are a zillion developers ready to help you quit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">Coexistence amid conflict<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Historically, conflicts between ranchers and wolves have not ended well for the predators.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cBecause of their depredations of domestic animals, wolves in Colorado were systematically eradicated by shooting, trapping and poisoning,\u201d reads the CPW informational website on wolves.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In recent years, CPW officials say there have been no reports or evidence of people killing wolves in the state, except for a widely publicized incident in 2015 where a hunter shot a wolf that he said he thought was a coyote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">While wolf advocates point to the ecological benefits of restoring wolves to their historic range, the social implications might be harder to pin down. Perry says she understands why people might be attracted to the idea of wolves, but she believes the implications on the ranching industry will be far-reaching.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThere could be unintended consequences (of wolf reintroduction),\u201d Perry said. \u201cLoss of ranchland, which means more fragmentation, more housing development, more decline for all animals, prey and predator.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Barnes, who has experience in both wildlife conservation and raising livestock, says part of having domestic animals is the risk of predators.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cVery little in nature gets to live out its life without the risk of getting eaten,\u201d Barnes said. \u201cCoexistence is possible, but it\u2019s probably not peaceful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\">Aspen Journalism collaborates with The Aspen Times and Aspen Public Radio on coverage of biodiversity and the environment. More at aspenjournalism.org.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/wolf-reintroduction-vote-program-becoming-emotional-issue-for-some-colorado-residents\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials found this trail of wolf tracks in Moffat County in mid-January. They also heard distinct howls and believe there are six wolves in the pack.Colorado Parks and Wildlife Bill Fales and Marj Perry raise cattle near Carbondale. They fear that the presence of wolves in Colorado would come with a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2455077","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-28 00:37:18","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2455077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2455077"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2455077\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2455077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2455077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2455077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}