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In June, on a remote two-track road in Northwest Colorado, a truck driven by a state biologist stirred up an animal. From behind the wheel, the biologist and her husband watched an adult gray wolf cross the dirt before it scampered over a hill.
What happened next could be a landmark in Colorado’s natural history. A few minutes after the adult disappeared, the biologist reported a dark gray puppy followed the same path. The sighting could mean a group of grey wolves isn’t just living in Colorado for the first time since humans eradicated the species in the 1940s.
The predators could be breeding as well.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman Rebecca Ferrell said her office has no reason to doubt a report from one of its own, but it remains a solitary report.
“We don’t have any photographic evidence or scat to provide additional confirmation at this time,” Ferrell said.
While the sighting is far from solid evidence of wild wolf breeding, it comes at a political crossroads for the species. Colorado will vote in November on whether to reintroduce wolves to the Western Slope. If voters see the species is coming back on its own, opposing ranchers and farmers think maybe they’ll be less likely to force the species back onto Colorado’s landscape.
In November Coloradans will vote on whether to reintroduce wolves to the Western Slope. I am of two minds about this. As someone with an undergraduate degree in ecology/biology, I think reintroducing wolves is a fine idea. These predators were a part of Colorado's ecosystems for thousands of years before they were exterminated in our state by man 70 years ago. The reintroduction of the wolf would serve as a natural check on the populations of deer and elk, among others. The deer population in our state is huge and the animals can starve for lack of enough forage, especially over the winter. Plus, wolves are naturally shy of man and wouldn't pose a threat to humans except under very rare circumstances.
On the other hand, wolves will go after sheep and cattle and ranchers on the Western Slope will suffer livestock losses if the wolves are allowed to come back. I think the livestock problem could be worked out with some kind of special fund to compensate ranchers for any losses. However, I don't feel that it's right for urban dwellers on the Front Range to end up imposing their will (however well intentioned) on the residents of the far less populated Western Slope. This to me seems like a recipe for yet another policy war between Democrats in Denver and Republicans in Cortez. Surely we have enough divisions already without adding to them with the wolf experiment?
I really am going to have to mull this one over between now and November. What do other Coloradans think?
Let's make this a poll, easier to count up the votes that way.
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I wouldn't be surpised if there are remnants there isolated from the mainstream. I heard a supposedly extinct Mexican Wolf in rural AZ long ago howling in the distant canyon of a remote reservation. The area was far removed from highways. I told a guy about it at a major Pac 12 university who was involved with preservation of the rare species. At the time, there was definitely skepticism. But some years later biologists confirmed they did find a rare pack still alive in very remote AZ.
So, Colorado still has a rare pack or two scattered in remote areas. Perhaps wild game cameras can be setup in the area to capture objective evidence.
I believe that there are at least 2 packs that have been reported over the last few years, one that hangs out along the Colorado/Wyoming border and 1 further south. My brother owns a ranch on the western slope and has seen signs of wolves several times, but with the abundance of deer and elk there have not been any attacks on ranches that I have heard about. It seems that 1 of them may have been here for a long time and the other has come down from the wolves that they reintroduced to Yellowstone some years ago. I think we need to figure out how many are actually here before we have the discussion of how many more we should add.
In November Coloradans will vote on whether to reintroduce wolves to the Western Slope. I am of two minds about this. As someone with an undergraduate degree in ecology/biology, I think reintroducing wolves is a fine idea. These predators were a part of Colorado's ecosystems for thousands of years before they were exterminated in our state by man 70 years ago. The reintroduction of the wolf would serve as a natural check on the populations of deer and elk, among others. The deer population in our state is huge and the animals can starve for lack of enough forage, especially over the winter. Plus, wolves are naturally shy of man and wouldn't pose a threat to humans except under very rare circumstances.
On the other hand, wolves will go after sheep and cattle and ranchers on the Western Slope will suffer livestock losses if the wolves are allowed to come back. I think the livestock problem could be worked out with some kind of special fund to compensate ranchers for any losses. However, I don't feel that it's right for urban dwellers on the Front Range to end up imposing their will (however well intentioned) on the residents of the far less populated Western Slope. This to me seems like a recipe for yet another policy war between Democrats in Denver and Republicans in Cortez. Surely we have enough divisions already without adding to them with the wolf experiment?
I really am going to have to mull this one over between now and November. What do other Coloradans think?
A WOLF PUPPY LOOKS OUT OF ITS DEN
This caught my attention. I don't live in Colorado so am not going to vote in the poll, but I'll be curious to see what ****storm erupts from this if they are reintroduced. People in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming are still angry 25 years late. I read a quote somewhere that said something to the effect of "those who loved wolves before reintroduction still love 'em, those who hated wolves before reintroduction still hate 'em."
Although the Red Desert in southwest Wyoming does present a bit of a barrier to wolf dispersal (and a large population of people with guns), I would not be surprised if Colorado had a few wolves breeding in the remote areas.
I believe that there are at least 2 packs that have been reported over the last few years, one that hangs out along the Colorado/Wyoming border and 1 further south. My brother owns a ranch on the western slope and has seen signs of wolves several times, but with the abundance of deer and elk there have not been any attacks on ranches that I have heard about. It seems that 1 of them may have been here for a long time and the other has come down from the wolves that they reintroduced to Yellowstone some years ago. I think we need to figure out how many are actually here before we have the discussion of how many more we should add.
A while back I read a news story about the wolves which had been re-introduced to Yellowstone in the mid 90's refusing to stay put and showing up in other parts of Wyoming. The ranching community in the state were not amused - to put it mildly.
Wyoming Game and Fish decided that at that point it needed to start regulating the wolves which previously had been subject to the rules contained within the Endangered Species Act. That Act barely even allows you to breathe on an endangered species because that might cause it to catch the coronavirus (kidding of course).
Game and Fish warned that livestock producers should be aware that wolves in Wyoming are currently managed under two different legal designations:
1) trophy game animal - either year round or seasonal in three separate management areas throughout the state. Different laws and regulations apply depending on geographic location.
2) trophy predatory animalsWolves who roam outside the two management areas and are discovered wantonly killing stock or dogs are classed as trophy predatory animals and may be killed at any time. Farmers and ranchers can file compensatory claims for the damage done to their stock by predatory animals.
As of April 2020 Wyoming wildlife agencies estimated that the state had a total of 311 grey wolves which lived in 43 separate packs. Officials say that if the wolf population remains at or near the above numbers, the state will be at full carrying capacity for the grey wolf population.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NDak15
This caught my attention. I don't live in Colorado so am not going to vote in the poll, but I'll be curious to see what ****storm erupts from this if they are reintroduced. People in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming are still angry 25 years late. I read a quote somewhere that said something to the effect of "those who loved wolves before reintroduction still love 'em, those who hated wolves before reintroduction still hate 'em."
Although the Red Desert in southwest Wyoming does present a bit of a barrier to wolf dispersal (and a large population of people with guns), I would not be surprised if Colorado had a few wolves breeding in the remote areas.
I would be willing to bet good money that Colorado already has a few wolves that officialdom either is not aware of because the correct wildlife employee with the right specialized degree has yet to come across any wolves here or because the wildlife department refuses to give any credence to sightings that folks such as outdoors men or lifelong ranchers have reported to them. The folks who run Colorado Game and Fish are very into job security and they dislike conceding that even a Coloradan who has spent her entire life outdoors in the most remote parts of the state could recognize a wolf who isn't there.
Here's a little story about my one and only experience with Colorado wolves:
Back in the 80's a friend and I had decided to camp at a spot in the San Juans between Rico and Telluride in the vicinity of Engineer Mountain. I haven't been back to that particular spot since, but in the early 80's we had that place all to ourselves. After we'd eaten our lunch, I was gazing lazily into the valley that lay far below us. Suddenly two small spots appeared from behind some fallen rocks far below. I grabbed my binocs quickly and raised them to my eyes. After what seemed like an hour, I finally got them adjusted well enough that two spots sprung into focus. Their coats appeared to be a reddish brown and they covered the ground in an easy lope.
My first thought was "Coyotes! Well, I'll be danged!" But Coyotes simply don't travel - never mind live - that high into the mountains. They are sensible creatures and prefer the easy life to be found below 9,000 feet or so in elevation. "Ed! What are those things? I think that's a pair of wolves, except wolves aren't found here or anywhere else in Colorado!"
Ed appeared to have fallen asleep, but when he heard my excited shouts, he opened his eyes and looked over at me with a glance that was only a little condescending. He raised his own high powered binoculars which he liked to take with him on elk hunts in the fall. "Are you able to tell how they are carrying their tails," he asked me. I squinted thru my decidedly inferior binocular lenses. "I can't be sure, but I'd say that their tales are streaming straight out behind them and they have got really long legs - I've never seen such long legs on any coyote anywhere. If they're coyotes, they must be mutants from outer space."
Ed nodded. "It's hard to tell from so far away, but those two appear to be anywhere from 50 pounds to 70 pounds heavier than the average coyote and they appear to be taller as well, although I can't make a very good guess on that from way up here."
"Wolves- they really are wolves," I said in amazement. Ed nodded just as the two wolves disappeared around the bend of a tiny creek far below. Do you think if we report our sighting to Colorado Fish and Wildlife, they'd believe us?" Ed watched the valley below for a minute, maybe hoping for a second sighting of our two new friends. Then he replied, "You bet! A couple of crazy college kids from Boulder on summer break, probably high on psilocybin or at the very least locoweed. But we can give it a shot if you want."
I did want, so we stopped by the Colorado Fish and Game office in Durango on our way back to Boulder. The guy at the front desk was polite enough if getting more cross-eyed the longer we continued to tell our story, crying "wolf" with every 3rd sentence. When we had finished, he told us firmly, "Those were coyotes. No wolves at all in Colorado, but sometimes you tourists just get a bit overexcited and make the wrong identification." Ed had been right.
Still, even after all this time, I do believe that on election day I will cast my vote as a "yes" for re- introducing the wolf to Colorado, and I won't feel guilty about it at all.
I'm split on the issue. On one hand, they do serve an ecological function in balance. On the other hand, I've heard from relatives in MN and WI that they are not as human avoiding as advertised. I had a cousin who was in a tree stand with 3 of them circling underneath for a couple hours. They don't run away when humans shout back. I'd be more scared to leave smaller children outside without active adult supervision.
I think the question comes down to: Do you believe humans should be the only apex predators in Colorado? I tend to think that if they were native before European settlement and can still thrive, then they should be in said area.
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