The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is proposing to establish an experimental population of gray wolves in Colorado after voters passed a 2020 initiative to introduce wolves into the state. The agency is seeking public comment on the rule through April 18.
USFWS proposes creating an experimental population under Section 10(j) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Colorado Parks and Wildlife is mandated to introduce wolves into the state by the end of the year and requested an experimental population to give the state more flexibility with managing wolves once they’re introduced.
The state’s draft plan for managing wolves can be found at cpw.state.co.us. The public is able to comment on the plan through Feb. 22.
USFWS developed a proposed rule and draft environmental impact statement following a public scoping period last summer. The DEIS reviewed the alternatives considered for the rule-making process.
Creating an experimental population under Section 10(j) will allow USFWS to designate a population of an ESA-listed species as experimental if it will be released into natural habitat outside currently established populations. An experimental population would allow USFWS to provide management flexibility for Colorado introducing wolves.
“This management flexibility can help ensure co-existence between wolves and affected landowners contributing to the conservation of the species while reducing the potential impacts of reintroduction to stakeholders,” USFWS said in a press release.
Opposition
Conservation groups have denounced the proposed rule, calling it a way to allow “widespread killing of reintroduced Colorado wolves” and a way for ranchers to kill wolves on public lands.
“The Fish and Wildlife Service shouldn’t let a state agency, one that’s far too friendly with the livestock industry, allow ranchers to kill wolves without requiring the use of non-lethal deterrence,” said Michael Robinson, senior conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, in a released statement.
“Keeping cattle, sheep and wolves safe will require apolitical thinking, which seems rarer now than the fleeting gray wolf sightings in Colorado.”
Background
Colorado voters passed Proposition 114 in 2020, which called for reintroduction of wolves in the state by the end of 2023. In 2022, a federal court ruled against USFWS’ decision to remove wolves from the ESA list throughout most of the U.S.
USFWS will hold public information meetings throughout the state to share information and receive feedback on the proposed rule. Meetings are set for the following dates:
• March 14: Grand Junction Convention Center, Grand Junction, 5:30 p.m.
• March 15: Moffat County Pavilion, Craig, 5:30 p.m.
• March 16: Wattenberg Center, Walden, 5:30 p.m.
• March 22: Virtual, details to follow at www.fws.gov/coloradowolf, 5:30 p.m.
The rule was set to publish in the Federal Register on Feb. 17, after WLJ press time. A 60-day public comment period will follow through April 18. Comments may be submitted by visiting www.regulations.gov and searching for Docket ID FWS-R6-ES-2022-0100.
For more information and to review the proposed rule, visit www.fws.gov/coloradowolf. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
