DENVER – In November 2015, the Parks and Wildlife Commission (PWC) returned to the discussion of wolves with a draft resolution to oppose the active introduction or reintroduction of wolves into Colorado. The discussion is slated to continue at 4 p.m.,Wednesday, Jan. 13, at the Commission’s regularly scheduled meeting in Denver.
More than ten years ago, the PWC approved a plan entitled, Findings and Recommendations for Managing Wolves that Migrate into Colorado. The plan, a collaborative result from the Colorado Wolf Management Working Group, was in response to the reintroduction of gray wolves by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) into their historic habitat, the northern Rocky Mountains.
Interest in wolves remains high in Colorado and the proposed resolution has generated considerable public discussion and concern. Many are asking, “Why is this draft resolution in front of the Commission now? Isn’t this an ‘anti-wolf’ draft resolution?”
These questions and more are reconciled by a closer look at the draft resolution itself and the issues surrounding federal wolf recovery programs across the western United States. In considering these and others, it is important to note that the draft resolution does not pass judgment on the value of wolves as future members of the state’s fauna. Rather, it addresses the question of which wolves should eventually live in Colorado, and how they will get to the state.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) takes a proactive approach by presenting this draft resolution to the Commission well in advance of anticipated federal rulings with facts based upon ecological principles.