In Historic Move, Colorado Voters Decide To Reintroduce Gray Wolves

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Colorado voters narrowly approved a ballot measure to reintroduce the gray wolf decades after it disappeared from the state.





Dawn Villella/AP



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Dawn Villella/AP



Environment And Energy Collaborative
Gray Wolves To Be Removed From Endangered Species List

One complicating factor is the Trump Administration’s recent decision to remove gray wolves from the endangered species list.

If it survives expected legal challenges, it could make Colorado’s task easier, since state wildlife managers won’t need permission from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to manage the species. But it also may mean the state won’t be able to receive federal grants for the project.

Meantime, Colorado biologists are keeping a close eye on whether wolves are already in the state. Last winter, wildlife officials confirmed that a group of six wolves appeared to be living in northwestern Colorado. It now seems at least some of those wolves may have been killed across the border in Wyoming.

Nevertheless, ranchers and hunters against the initiative think those wolves had a decisive impact on shrinking support for the vote.

«One thing is clear — Coloradans have serious concerns about the forced introduction of gray wolves,» said Patrick Pratt, deputy campaign manager for Coloradans Protecting Wildlife, the main opposition group.

A spokesperson for Colorado’s state wildlife agency said it will now carry out the will of voters. The ballot language requires a final plan for reintroduction based on science and public hearings.