Colorado's initial wolf reintroduction plan will be released Friday: What to know
Colorado Parks and Wildlife will present its preliminary Wolf Restoration and Management Plan to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife commissioners on Friday, Dec. 9.
The agency convened a Stakeholders Advisory Group and Technical Working Group with a range of interests 15 months ago to prepare recommendations to help create the plan, as mandated when voters narrowly passed Proposition 114 in 2020.
Recommendations developed by the two groups, completed in September, are not final decisions but presented to the commission for consideration. The commission will take public input on the preliminary plan in January and February with a vote on the final plan in early May.
Here is a look at where different entities stand on what likely will be the backbone of the plan.
More:Some of Colorado's first wolf pups in 80 years are believed to have been killed in Wyoming
How many wolves should Colorado release?
Advisory groups say: 10 to 15 wolves per year for two to three years, then pause to assess how the effort is going.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife says: Eight to 10 wolves per year for three or four years before pausing to monitor their movement, pack formation and breeding.
WildEarth Guardians says: For the first phase of wolf reintroduction, release one breeding pair in each of 12 wolfpack zones it designated west of the Continental Divide for a total of 60 wolves or a range of 48 to 120 wolves in the first two years.
Where will Colorado get wolves from for reintroduction efforts?
Advisory group: Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, because these states have available wolves and their main prey base is elk, which are abundant in Colorado.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife: Idaho, Montana and Wyoming
WildEarth Guardians: Do not indicate a preference
More:Wolves were once an option to reduce Rocky Mountain National Park's popular elk herd
Where should wolves be released in Colorado?
Per the ballot initiative, all reintroductions must takes place west of the Continental Divide.
Advisory groups: Did not pinpoint specific release sites or number of release sites, but their preferred alternative is to have flexibility in specific release sites for an area with multiple release points.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife: Identified a "doughnut hole'' based on social-ecological modeling map study that takes into consideration habitat, prey, livestock and attitudes toward the predator. That area includes, roughly, from north of Vail east to the Continental Divide, then south to southeast of Gunnison, west to Ridgway and north to north of Glenwood Springs, with Aspen in the middle.
WildEarth Guardians: Suggested reintroduction initially be considered in five to seven of the 12 wolfpack zones it identified west of the Continental Divide.
More:Colorado's reintroduced wolves will wander widely, likely even to Front Range, officials say
How many wolves should Colorado strive for before delisting them from Endangered Species Act?
Advisory groups: A minimum count of 150 wolves anywhere in Colorado for two successive years, or as soon as a minimum of 200 wolves anywhere in Colorado is attained.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife: No recommendation
WildEarth Guardians: Minimum of 150 packs or 750 wolves, with a range of 600 to 1,500, to be established for four consecutive years in Colorado
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How should livestock owners be compensated for wolf depredations?
Per the ballot initiative, livestock owners who experience confirmed wolf depredations are required to be compensated "fair market value.'' What constitutes that value is at the crux of compensation alternatives.
Advisory groups: Prefer a compensation program that allows livestock owners to choose between using a value multiplier ratio or itemizing loss due to death or injury.
The multiplier option is used in other states. In Wyoming, livestock owners are paid a 7-to-1 ratio of fair market value for depredations to cover additional costs created by wolves. The itemized alternative allows the livestock owner to file with the state for the loss of the animal in addition to costs associated with the presence of wolves, including lower conception rates and weight gain.
In determining a wolf depredation, the advisory group's recommendation is the investigating officer from Colorado Parks and Wildlife or U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services reasonably determines if the death or injury is the result of a wolf, favoring the livestock owner in cases where there is no clear evidence.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife: No recommendation
WildEarth Guardians: Favors fair market value compensation but said impacted livestock owners should be required to use nonlethal tools to deter wolves before being compensated and that only trained Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff, not U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services, should have the authority to declare an event a wolf-caused loss.
Should lethal control of wolves be allowed?
This is among the most debated issues.
Colorado asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for a 10(j) permit under the Endangered Species Act, which gives the state more flexibility to manage wolves, including lethal means. A 10(j) permit accompanied wolf reintroduction in Wyoming and Idaho in the mid-1990s.
Advisory groups: Allow lethal take by state and federal agents and producers or their agents forwolves caught in the act of biting, wounding, grasping, killing or chasing livestock or working dogs or for chronically depredating wolves with certain constraints and requiring reporting and investigation. Nonlethal methods should be encouraged before lethal take.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife: No recommendation
WildEarth Guardians: Only allow lethal take in extremely limited circumstances, protection of human life; the group says nonlethal conflict prevention methods should be prioritized and a prerequisite before killing depredating wolves other than to protect human life.
Should recreational public hunting of wolves be allowed in Colorado?
Advisory groups: Did not come out with a recommendation, believing that issue should be addressed only if/when wolf population reaches a sustainable level.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife: No recommendation
WildEarth Guardians: Believes hunting should be strictly prohibited because Proposition 114 language does not allow wolves to be classified as "game animals,'' a designation that leaves the animals open to hunting.
More:Meeker cattle deaths remain unsolved mystery to Colorado wildlife and livestock experts
Wolf Restoration and Management Plan timeline
Friday, Dec. 9: 9 a.m. preliminary plan presentation during a virtual meeting. To see the plan once announced and to post public comment, visit https://engagecpw.org/. Public comment will be taken through Feb. 22.
January-February: Five public meetings will be held throughout the state and public input taken through Feb. 22.
April 6: Colorado Parks and Wildlife set to present final plan to Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission.
May 3-4: Commission set to take final vote on the plan.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Initial Colorado wolf reintroduction plan to be announced Friday
