Environmental authorities plan to release gray wolves in Colorado in the coming weeks, based on the requests of urban voters and the discontent of rural residents who do not want these predators but have little influence in a state where Democratic power is growing.
Introduction
The efforts to reintroduce wolves represent the most ambitious initiative in the United States in nearly three decades, marking a sharp turnaround from the aggressive efforts led by Republican-dominated states to cull wolf populations. More releases are scheduled to begin in Colorado over the coming years to fill one of the last major gaps left in the American West for a species that historically ranged from northern Canada to the southwestern desert.
Concerns and Tensions
The reintroduction, starting with the release of up to 10 wolves, is a contentious political issue as Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana — dominated by the Republican Party — have refused to share their wolves for this effort. Ultimately, Colorado officials turned to another Democratic state — Oregon — to obtain wolves.
With anticipation rising among wildlife advocates, who have already begun a contest to name the wolves, ranchers in the Rockies where the releases will occur are feeling anxious. They have already witnessed glimpses of what the future may hold, as a few wolves that wandered in from Wyoming have killed livestock over the past few years.
Impact on Ranchers and Animals
These losses are devastating for individual ranchers or pet owners. However, their impact on the cattle industry as a whole is minimal: the number of cattle killed or injured in documented cases equates to 0.002% of the herds in the affected states, according to data comparisons with the state’s livestock.
Colorado environmental authorities expect to release 30 to 50 wolves over the next five years. To ease the concerns of the cattle industry, fair market value will be paid to ranchers who lose livestock or guardian animals due to wolf attacks, with compensation reaching up to $15,000 per animal. Meanwhile, Colorado residents who supported the reintroduction will have to get used to killing wolves that prey on livestock.
Political and Environmental Challenges
Opposition to the wolves is being used as a political weapon by elected officials like Lauren Boebert, who sponsored legislation to remove the remaining federal protections for wolves. This may not significantly impact elections but serves as a source “for candidates like Boebert to rally around, I think due to their desire for fewer other issues, to stoke cultural resentment,” according to Seth Masket, director of the American Politics Center at the University of Denver.
Colorado authorities plan to release 30 to 50 wolves over the next five years. To ease the concerns of the cattle industry, fair market value will be paid to ranchers who lose livestock or guardian animals due to wolf attacks, with compensation reaching up to $15,000 per animal. Meanwhile, Colorado residents who supported the reintroduction will have to get used to killing wolves that prey on livestock.
Colorado authorities have a detailed strategy to deter wolves from livestock, including bright lights that hang on fence lines and propane cannons that emit frightening explosive sounds. They also consider tying fabric strips to fences to make wolves feel cautious about crossing into farms. Ultimately, predators become accustomed to these deterrents, so they are used for relatively short periods.
History and Development
Gray wolves were extirpated from most of the United States by 1930 in government-sponsored poisoning and hunting campaigns. They gained endangered species protection in 1975 when there were about 1,000 left in northern Minnesota.
Did not
There is a backward return for the other states where the gray wolves have been re-established. About 7,500 wolves roam in approximately 1,400 packs across connected parts of the United States. The population is expanding at the fastest pace in Oregon and Washington – two Democratic states where wolves are being naturally reintroduced after being extended to neighboring states.
In Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, where wolf hunting is allowed, Republican-controlled legislatures have sought to reduce wolf numbers by loosening rules regarding the killing of predators and increasing the number of animals individual hunters can kill. This has led to more wolves being killed in Yellowstone but has not significantly affected overall wolf numbers. State authorities say this has helped reduce wolf attacks on livestock as wolves have become more wary of humans.
The issue has also caught the attention of President Joseph Biden’s administration, which is considering restoring federal wolf protections in states in response to laws that have made it much easier to kill predators. It is the only region in the United States where wolves are currently not federally protected.
Interior authorities have been seeking to remove wolf protections in the rest of the contiguous United States for a decade – starting from former President Barack Obama. This ultimately occurred under former President Donald Trump, until it was overturned by a federal court.
A new proposal is expected to be presented by early February. If wolves lose their protection, it will open the door for predator hunting in Colorado and elsewhere, with each state determining that.
Near Don Gettle’s Sherman Creek farm, Brian Anderson found three of his lambs dead last month on his family farm. One had been partially eaten, but the other lambs seemed only to be affected by blood spots in their wool.
Anderson is likely to be compensated at the current market price of about $300 per animal, but he says, “The financial value is not what concerns me. … I have three customers this year who will not get lambs.”
However, he is less worried about the long-term impacts on breeders, provided that compensation is paid for livestock killed.
Anderson said, “Will it affect people over the next four years? Absolutely. Will farming and ranching continue? Absolutely.”
Source: https://apnews.com/article/wolves-colorado-livestock-politics-8575dad5caf0c9d9030db6ae0577cac4
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