Gray Wolf Reintroduction in Colorado
| Publication year | 2023 |
| Pages | 22 |
FEATURE | ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
History, Management, and Law
BY DAVID JENNINGS
This article gives an overview of the history of gray wolves in the United States, describes the plan for their reintroduction into Colorado, and explains the laws that protect them.
The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Department (CPW) is set to begin releasing gray wolves, Canis lupus, back into Colorado by the end of 2023, as mandated by the voters. This article explains how we arrived at this juncture, outlines CPW's plan for gray wolf reintroduction, and gives an overview of the relevant laws.
Proposition 114
Support for reintroducing gray wolves to Colorado has existed since the mid-1990s.[1] But it was not until 2019 that the Rocky Mountain Wolf Action Fund started gathering signatures on a petition to change the Colorado statutes to require the state to reintroduce gray wolves. This petition eventually became Proposition 114, and it was introduced on the ballot in Colorado during the 2020 election. It directed CPW to (1) develop a plan to reintroduce and manage gray wolves in Colorado no later than December 31, 2023, on designated lands west of the Continental Divide; (2) hold statewide hearings about scientific, economic, and social considerations; (3) periodically obtain public input to update the plan; and (4) use state funds to assist livestock owners in preventing conflicts with gray wolves and pay fair compensation for livestock losses.[2]
In November 2020, Proposition 114 passed with a margin of 50.91% in favor to 49.09% against, making Colorado the first state to pass legislation to reintroduce wildlife. Proposition 114 is now codified at CRS § 33-2-105.8 (the statute).[3] CPW is tasked with overseeing compliance with the statute.
A Brief History of Gray Wolves in the United States
The history of gray wolves in the United States provides some context for the motivations behind Proposition 114. In the early 19th century, gray wolves inhabited most areas of the United States, with a population of about 2 million individual wolves.[4] By the late 1800s, as settlers expanded into the western states, much of gray wolves' traditional prey, such as bison and other ungulates (hoofed mammals), was depleted through hunting and habitat destruction for agricultural purposes.[5] With fewer traditional prey available, gray wolves switched to depredating the livestock now occupying much of the landscape, which in turn led to the targeted extermination of gray wolves by settlers. As is fairly typical with species that become a nuisance to humans, this led to an extermination campaign, which included state and federal programs to poison and trap adult wolves and kill young wolves in dens.[6] This persistent hunting eventually led to the functional extirpation of gray wolves in the contiguous United States by the mid-20th century, with only a few hundred individual wolves remaining.[7]
In Colorado specifically, gray wolves were eradicated by around 1940, but in more recent years some individuals and packs have independently dispersed back into the state. For instance, in 2004, a gray wolf carcass was found near Idaho Springs.[8] Other occasional encounters were subsequently recorded throughout the state,[9] and by 2019, a pack started venturing into northwestern Colorado from Wyoming. Thus, the gray wolf releases pursuant to the statute will augment this natural dispersion.
Gray wolves were first federally protected by the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966 and later by the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and they are listed as endangered under Colorado's Nongame, Endangered, or Threatened Species Conservation Act. Although Proposition 114 is the first successful ballot initiative concerning the reintroduction of wildlife, it is not the first time gray wolves have been reintroduced into part of their historic range. Gray wolves were famously reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park from 1995 to 1997, and populations have subsequently become well-established in Wyoming. Mexican gray wolves, C. lupus baileyi, a gray wolf subspecies, were also reintroduced into Arizona and New Mexico in the late 1990s.[10] So while the method for achieving reintroduction in Colorado is novel, the general concept of wolf reintroduction is not and has been successfully performed elsewhere. Indeed, the gray wolf population in the contiguous United States grew to over 6,000 individuals by 2020, largely as a result of reintroduction efforts and federal protection.[11]
CPW's Wolf Management Plan for Reintroducing Gray Wolves to Colorado
Pursuant to the statute, CPW published a draft wolf management plan on December 9, 2022. Over the next six months, CPW held various public meetings and solicited feedback on the plan. On May 3, 2023, CPW's commissioners unanimously approved its final Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan (the plan).[12]Among other things, the plan addresses implementing the reintroduction effort, recovery, management, and wolf-livestock interactions.
Key Elements for Conservation and Management
The plan focuses on seven key elements for the future of wolf conservation and management in the state: (1) social tolerance for wolves and economic impacts of their presence in the state, (2) wolf recovery, (3) wolf management with respect to wolf-livestock interactions, (4) wolf management with respect to wolf-ungulate interactions, (5) wolf interactions with other wildlife species, (6) wolves and human safety concerns, and (7) monitoring and research.[13]
Reintroduction Implementation
The plan contemplates sourcing wild gray wolves from locations with similar ecological conditions to western Colorado.[14] Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming are listed as the first choices, with eastern Oregon and eastern Washington serving as alternates. This detail, however, is not yet finalized, with representatives from these states recently denying the existence of any agreements to provide Colorado with gray wolves. In fact, the states of Wyoming[15] and Idaho[16] have indicated that they are opposed to the reintroduction of wolves in Colorado and will not send wolves here. North-central Utah has also been listed as a possible source location, but the Utah state government also seems unsupportive of Colorado reintroducing gray wolves.[17] So, it remains to be seen where Colorado's reintroduced gray wolves will actually come from.
Nonetheless, CPW proposes to capture 10 to 15 gray wolves annually from several different packs over a three-to-five-year timeframe, for a total of around 30 to 50 gray wolves in the initial releases. The captured gray wolves will be fitted with GPS collars with additional radio telemetry capability prior to being released in Colorado. The collars will also have a mortality sensor and transmit at least one location per day via satellite, enabling CPW to quickly investigate any mortalities or alleged interactions with livestock or people.
Under the statute, gray wolves are only permitted to be released west of the Continental Divide.[18] And because gray wolves are also capable of dispersing considerable distances relatively quickly, release locations will be at least 60 miles from neighboring states and tribal lands. After considering these factors, along with habitat suitability and conflict risk modeling, the plan proposes two main areas into which gray wolves will be released: (1) the I-70 corridor between Glenwood Springs and Vail, down to the Roaring Fork Valley, and (2) the Highway 50 corridor between Gunnison and Monarch Pass. The initial releases, however, are set to take place in the first area.
Gray wolves will be released onto state or private lands rather than federal lands to avoid the additional requirements and associated expenses that would be required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).[19] Unlike the gray wolf reintroduction into Yellowstone, where the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) used a "soft release," allowing the wolves to acclimate in pens before being released, CPW will implement a "hard release," immediately releasing wolves upon arrival at the locations identified.
Wolves will be monitored post-release through their GPS collars and a CPW campaign encouraging the public to report any wolf sightings. The success of the releases will be evaluated by wolves (1) having a greater than 70% survival rate in the first six months after release, (2) demonstrating "low" mortality in the two-to-three-year post-release period, (3) remaining in Colorado, (4) forming pairs and reproducing to establish packs, and (5) producing offspring that survive and successfully reproduce.[20] If the initial releases are successful, populations will be allowed to grow naturally toward recovery levels. But if they are deemed unsuccessful, further releases will be required.
Recovery of Wolves in Colorado
The statute requires CPW to develop a methodology for determining whether to remove gray wolves from Colorado's threatened and endangered species list.[21] This methodology is one of the most controversial, and legally significant, aspects of the plan. The plan does not, of course, affect any federal recovery plans or goals for gray wolves.
The plan uses a phased approach based on the number of wolves recorded in the state, with each phase corresponding to their status on the Colorado threatened and endangered species list.[22] Initially, CPW will use a minimum wintertime count to monitor gray wolf population size, but this will adapt to population estimates and modeling as the gray wolf population grows.
CPW's phased approach starts...
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