staging.rockymountainvoice.com

Menu

Tag: Wolves

Colorado officials outline ‘conflict minimization’ efforts ahead of next gray wolves release
No Comments
coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado officials outline ‘conflict minimization’ efforts ahead of next gray wolves release

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics Colorado Parks and Wildlife said it has made improvements to its "conflict minimization" program following feedback from livestock producers, who have pleaded with the agency to delay the introduction of the next set of gray wolves. Notably, the state is adding "conflict reduction" staffers and "non-lethal mitigation specialists" to its staff.  Up to 15 more wolves are expected to be released in Colorado early next year.  "Through partnerships with the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA), the Colorado Wolf Restoration Ad Hoc Working Group, USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services, Colorado State University Extension, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA NRCS) and NGOs, we are in a position to offer Colorado livestock...
Read More
Colorado Parks & Wildlife vows to do better job at Rd. 2 of wolf reintroduction starting in January
No Comments
State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado Parks & Wildlife vows to do better job at Rd. 2 of wolf reintroduction starting in January

By Tracy Ross | The Colorado Sun Colorado Parks and Wildlife is vowing to do a better job at wolf reintroduction ahead of the planned release of 15 gray wolves from British Columbia starting in January.  That’s according to a joint news release by CPW and the Colorado Department of Agriculture in which CPW director Jeff Davis said “staff and partners have been working hard, learning and adapting through the first year of restoration in Colorado” and that they’re “coming back with a stronger conflict minimization program” for the well-being of ranchers, their livestock and wolves.  The assurance comes during a time of pushback on the Colorado wolf program and the agency in charge of managing not only wolves but hundreds of other wildlife species in the state.  READ THE...
Read More
Ag, livestock groups ask British Columbia wildlife officials to reconsider
No Comments
State, thefencepost.com

Ag, livestock groups ask British Columbia wildlife officials to reconsider

By Rachel Gabel  | The Fence Post Twenty-six Colorado agriculture and livestock organizations have sent a letter to British Columbia wildlife officials asking them to reconsider a decision to allow the export of wolves to Colorado. Tim Ritschard, president of the Middle Park Stockgrowers, said other states and Native American Tribes within the United States have declined to allow Colorado to take wolves from their jurisdictions, and British Columbia should as well. Ritchard explained that in refusing Colorado’s request for its wolves, the Wind River Inter-Tribal Council cited growing public opposition to the wolf introduction program in Colorado and the extremely close vote that started the program. The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation rescinded their agreement to p...
Read More
The irony of Colorado obtaining gray wolves from British Columbia
No Comments
Rocky Mountain Voice, State

The irony of Colorado obtaining gray wolves from British Columbia

By Lindy Browning, Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice While Colorado wildlife managers have been trying to figure out where to get the next crop of 10 to 15 wolves to import into Colorado, British Columbia, Canada, has been trying to cull their population of wolves because of the predation of caribou that led to the endangerment of the herds. After the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington rescinded their offer to send gray wolves to Colorado in late 2024, state wildlife officials were left scrambling to figure out where to procure the voter-mandated wolves for the repopulation efforts in Colorado. As a result of the Colville Tribe withdrawal, Colorado has, ironically, reached out to secure a deal with British Columbia to take some of their unwanted ...
Read More
Western Colorado ranchers bracing for impact of the next release of wolves
No Comments
Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Western Colorado ranchers bracing for impact of the next release of wolves

By Lindy Browning | Contributor, Rocky Mountain Voice Sen. Perry Will told his constituents in a social media post “Brace yourselves, Garfield County,” after Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) announced that they will begin phase two of their wolf reintroduction program, adding insult to injury to western Colorado ranchers who have already seen the devastating impact on livestock on their northern neighbors. CPW will be trapping and importing the next 10 to 15 grey wolves from Canada and placing them somewhere in Garfield, Pitkin and Eagle County. Rio Blanco County was on the list of potential release sites, but has since been removed from that list due to the limited number of state-owned locations that would meet the criteria in the plan, in addition to the proximity to livestock...
Read More
Colorado wildlife officials meet with Western Slope commissioners over wolf reintroduction
No Comments
coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado wildlife officials meet with Western Slope commissioners over wolf reintroduction

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Colorado Parks and Wildlife, which faces sharp criticism over its plans to release more wolves on the Western Slope in the coming months, met with county commissioners last week from the counties where the next reintroductions are slated to take place. Those counties are Pitkin (Aspen), Rio Blanco, Eagle and Garfield, according to the agency. The idea of more wolves on the Western Slope didn't sit well with county commissioners — except for Pitkin County. And Pitkin County doesn't have state lands, so dropping wolves into that county would require a private landowner to grant Colorado Parks and Wildlife permission to do so. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
Read More
Petition requests hiatus in $5M wolf release program
No Comments
State, thefencepost.com

Petition requests hiatus in $5M wolf release program

By Rachel Gabel | The Fence Post Middle Park Stockgrowers Association president Tim Ritschard is on the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission agenda on Thursday, Nov. 14, at 11:10 a.m. with a request for citizen petition for rulemaking. The petition is signed by 26 of the state’s agriculture organizations, including Colorado Cattlemen’s Association, Colorado Farm Bureau, Club 20, and Colorado Wool Growers Association as well as several local livestock and stockgrowers associations. The petition seeks to delay any further introductions of gray wolves into the state until Colorado’s wolf management program can adequately address the conflicts between wolves and livestock producers. CPW has announced its intention to introduce wolves this coming winter in the same northwest Colorado...
Read More
Colorado announces possible release areas for next wave of introduced wolves
No Comments
State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado announces possible release areas for next wave of introduced wolves

By Tracy Ross | The Colorado Sun Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials met Friday with commissioners from four counties where the agency plans to release wolves — a new approach after state authorities previously released the animals in secret. Garfield, Pitkin, Rio Blanco and Eagle counties are in the running as drop-off points for the 10-15 wolves the agency will source from British Columbia during the 2024-25 capture-and-release season starting in December. The counties are within the agency’s northern release zone.  The early engagement comes after a rocky start to Colorado’s wolf reintroduction program in part, say critics, because of the agency’s lack of transparency starting with the release of five wolves in Grand County on Dec. 18, and five in Summit County on D...
Read More
Western Slope livestock raisers seek answers on wolf concerns from CPW
No Comments
Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Western Slope livestock raisers seek answers on wolf concerns from CPW

By Lindy Browning | Contributor, Rocky Mountain Voice Livestock raisers from the Western Slope are trying to plan ahead as Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) prepares to relocate another 10 wolves on the western landscape this winter. With calving season beginning in January, a season when livestock is most vulnerable and the wolves are looking for a meal in unfamiliar territory, the inherent conflict is seemingly unavoidable. To that end, livestock growers met with CPW in Glenwood Springs to learn about hazing and wolf predation mitigation strategies, as well as risk-reducing programs offered by the organization. CPW's Adam Baca was joined by Dustin Shiflett from Colorado Department of Agriculture and Lauren Emerick from Colorado Wildlife Services, to provide information about ...
Read More
Colorado’s wolf reintroduction has cost taxpayers double what they expected when they voted to approve it
No Comments
Outdoor Life, State

Colorado’s wolf reintroduction has cost taxpayers double what they expected when they voted to approve it

By Dac Collins | Outdoor Life Bringing wolves back to Colorado has cost the state at least $4.8 million so far, according to a new financial analysis by The Denver Post. This is within the total amount appropriated by lawmakers, the Post reports. But it’s more than double the estimate that was given to Colorado voters during the 2020 election, when voters narrowly passed a ballot measure initiating wolf reintroduction by a margin of less than 1 percent. The Post’s analysis is based on a spending spreadsheet from Colorado Parks and Wildlife that was obtained through a public records request. The document breaks down all the expenses associated with CPW’s wolf reintroduction program, including the high cost of transporting and surveilling gray wolves. READ THE FULL STORY A...
Read More