RBC | After 47 public meetings involving more than 3,000 citizens, 15 meetings for the 20-person Stakeholder Advisory Group, and 14 meetings for the 15-person Technical Working Group, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission presented the 293-page draft Wolf Reintroduction and Management Plan during a virtual meeting last Friday.
Commission Chair Carrie Besnette Hauser said, “This draft plan represents the Division’s very best effort to develop a blueprint and common sense approach to implement Proposition 114.”
Passed by a very narrow margin in 2020, Proposition 114 (now State Statute 33-2-105.8), directs Colorado Parks and Wildlife to “get wolves on the ground” by Dec. 31, 2023. In person and virtual hearings regarding the components of the draft plan will be held over the next several months, with opportunity for public comment, with final approval to come in May 2023.
The plan has been drafted concurrently with work done by U.S. Fish and Wildlife to establish a 10(j) rule for managing an experimental population of wolves in Colorado under the Endangered Species Act.
The draft plan identifies seven key issues: “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.”
Eric Odell, Species Conservation Manager for CPW, said the biological issues of bringing wolves back into the state are less challenging than the social/political issues. Those issues include economic concerns for ranchers and livestock producers, impacts to hunting and outdoor recreation and impacts on other wildlife, from ungulates to the state’s other carnivores.
The plan outlines a “hard release strategy” of 10-15 wolves per year over 3-5 years. The wolves will likely be gathered from states with similar ecosystems in the northern Rockies in the fall or winter months, then released from crates immediately upon arrival at their new location. In a soft release, the animals would be contained and acclimated to the new environment for a period of time. Gathered animals will be examined for physical health and outfitted with GPS tracking collars prior to release.
The Western Slope is the focus location for release, with two identified regions, one encompassing most of the Flat Tops and one south that includes areas around Gunnison and Montrose. The first year release is planned for the northern location, which includes the cities of Vail, Glenwood Springs and Aspen. The wolves will be released on state land and/or private land — if a private landowner is interested in participating. CPW officials did not have a ready answer when asked how many working ranches are in the proposed release area and said stipulations on acreage size for private land have not been set.
Several members of the Commission shared concerns about the GPS collars, two of which failed within a year on wolves in the North Park pack that migrated from Wyoming. CPW officials said they are researching additional options. The drawback to VHF radio collars is that someone has to be operating a receiver to track those collars. Tracking is most important during the early days following release, but additional animals added to the packs through migration or offspring will not be collared.
“Wolves are not going to respect those boundaries,” commented Commissioner Dallas May, regarding the need for effective monitoring. “It’s very important we know where they are… it’s entirely possible they’ll go east.”
Monitoring is also a tool for CPW to use in determining when the wolf population becomes self-sustaining and when to consider changing the animals’ status on the state’s endangered/threatened species list. The number of wolves that constitutes a “sustainable population” is widely debated, but the draft plan indicates a minimum population of 50 wolves for four successive years before downlisting is considered, with a minimum of 150 wolves before delisting is considered. The plan does not contemplate regulated hunting goals or objectives at this time.
Conflict management will include ongoing education for humans and employing nonlethal and lethal tools for wolves on a case-by-case basis. Statistically, based on what other states have reported, the vast majority of packs will not be involved in conflict with livestock or humans. In the instance of recurring livestock depredation, lethal management tools are considered useful and are not a threat to long-term viability. Lethal management is only occuring at a low percentage of the entire population of wolves in other states.
In cases of livestock interactions, CPW will provide “temporary conflict minimization materials,” including fladry (electrified fencing with flagging), shell crackers, propane cannons, and fox lights on a case-by-case basis; outreach and training for livestock owners; and “fair compensation” for direct and indirect losses attributed to wolves, with a proposed maximum of $8,000 per head. Veterinary costs, losses of guarding/herding dogs are also subject to compensation. Chickens are not considered livestock, and dogs used for lion hunting are not eligible.
Several commissioners stated the $8,000 limit is not enough, particularly in the case of horses and breeding stock. Where the funding will come from is still undetermined. In Wyoming in 2019 there were 27 claims made, totalling approximately $200,000.
Research into the impacts of wolf restoration on deer, elk and moose populations will be ongoing, as well as continuing efforts to educate the public.
Public comment on the draft plan is open at https://engagecpw.org/hub-page/wolf-engagement
By NIKI TURNER – editor@editorht1885.com
