Reintroducing wolves to Colorado

Conflict avoidance needs to be proactive. Wolves are native to Colorado and are highly-adapted carnivores. They are naturally inclined to feed on deer, elk, and other native wildlife. But when non-native, unprotected livestock are on the landscape, they represent easy feeding opportunities for wolves. State officials and livestock owners need to do their part by taking robust, proactive conflict-avoidance measures. A robust, state-led education and outreach effort is paramount for success.

Recreational wolf hunting should never happen.Recreational wolf hunting should never happen. Wolves are intelligent, social animals. Pack structures, prey, and territorialism combine to regulate wild wolf populations. Science indicates that there is no need to “cull” or keep a population “in check.” Hunting wolves is trophy hunting and only done for sport. Proposition 114 explicitly calls for wolves to be a “non-game species.”

Mexican wolves should be part of the reintroduction effort. A number of factors, including climate change, indicate that Mexican wolves would be a great addition to the Southern Rockies from an ecological perspective. Moreover, a population of Mexican wolves in southern Colorado would benefit the recovery of the wild U.S. population of endangered Mexican wolves, one of the most imperiled mammals in North America.