Colorado ranching groups sue to delay wolf reintroduction

Two Colorado ranching organizations have filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Denver requesting the reintroduction of wolves into the state be delayed until a proper environmental impact assessment and review can be conducted.

The lawsuit filed Monday by the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association and Gunnison County Stockgrowers Association names the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Colorado Parks and Wildlife as defendants, according to a Tuesday news release from the CCA, which represents more than 6,000 producers and landowners.

The complaint is the first legal action taken since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 10(j) rule under the Endangered Species Act went into effect in Colorado Dec. 8.

That rule designates gray wolves in Colorado as experimental and provides state officials and livestock producers more management flexibility of the animals, including killing wolves in situations where the predator is caught in the act of killing livestock or where chronic depredation is occurring.

The two organizations believe Colorado Parks and Wildlife and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated the National Environmental Policy Act by not conducting a thorough environmental impact statement and that reintroduction should be delayed until that process is complete.

Both organizations have opposed wolf introduction since voters narrowly passed the ballot initiative to begin reintroducing wolves west of the Continental Divide by the end of 2023.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is in the process of capturing as many as 10 wolves in northeast Oregon to serve as initial release animals into Grand, Summit and Eagle counties.

Will this legal action delay the release of wolves in Colorado?

Litigation involving wolf reintroduction is nothing new and was expected.

The federal 10(j) rule accompanied wolf reintroductions in Yellowstone National Park and Idaho in the mid-1990s, and litigation accompanied the rule implementation. In that case, the ruling judge allowed for the reintroduction to continue.

The key element to Monday's complaint is if the ruling judge will allow for the continuation of wolf reintroduction into Colorado while the complaint is being ruled on. The legal process to determine a ruling regarding the complaint can take several years.

Andy Spann, a fifth-generation rancher from Gunnison and president of the Gunnison County Stockgrowers Association, said in a news release that the organizations' concerns during the nearly three-year process to create a state wolf recovery plan were not adequately addressed.

"Impacts of wolf reintroduction, as would any other action of this magnitude, need to be properly reviewed to avoid unintended negative consequences to the natural environment, wildlife, and people of the impacted communities,'' he said. "GCSA put forth our concerns throughout the public process.

"We regret that a course of litigation on this and other issues seems to be the only recourse left to have these concerns legitimately addressed.''

Michael Saul, Rockies and Plains Program Director at Defenders of Wildlife, said in a news release the organization will work to see wolf reintroduction efforts continue. Defenders was one of several wildlife advocacy organizations to speak out against the lawsuit.

"Defenders is sorely disappointed by this transparent, 11th-hour attempt to delay efforts to bring wolves and their ecological benefits back to Colorado,'' he said. "Coloradans voted, the state worked extensively with ranchers and conservationists alike to prepare, and the lawful path forward is clear. Defenders stands poised to respond to ensure this last-minute maneuver will not thwart the historic return of the wolf.''

Colorado was under pressure to get the environmental impact statement completed

Colorado paid the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service $1 million to complete the environmental impact statement.

Colorado faced time constraints to get the EIS completed in time for the 10(j) rule to go into effect before wolves were reintroduced.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife Director Jeff Davis previously praised the expedience in which the EIS process was concluded, about half the time it normally takes.

"This demonstrates a sincere and effective commitment by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to accomplish this task on a very accelerated timeline,'' Davis said in a previous release. "National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) work typically takes two to three years and it was accomplished in a little over a year-and-a-half."

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado ranching groups file lawsuit to delay wolf reintroduction