Colorado is planning on reintroducing another carnivorous animal to the state.
On Jan. 15, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) unveiled a 106-page restoration plan intending to restore the wolverine after what the agency calls a century-long absence. The plan was brought to fruition following the passage of Senate Bill (SB) 24-171 in the 2024 legislative session.
SB 24-171 was sponsored by former Republican state Sen. Perry Will, who was also a former CPW area wildlife manager. Will now serves as a Garfield County commissioner.
“Colorado has great unoccupied wolverine habitat, and we have the opportunity to conserve a species that has been missing from our state,” Will said. “Our legislation provides Coloradans with the ability to advance conservation while maintaining the management flexibility required to restore this species in a reasonable and efficient manner.”
Restoration plan
The plan calls for the translocation of up to 15 wolverines per season for three-plus seasons, for a total of 45 wolverines. However, the release of the Colorado Wolverine Restoration Plan is the first part of four steps to be completed before wolverines may be brought into the state.
The agency must also establish a communications plan that details “how the division will communicate to stakeholders and boards of county commissioners in general locations of proposed releases of wolverines.”
The legislation also requires a CPW Commission rule to be established regarding compensation for depredation of livestock by wolverines, although the agency noted depredation is not anticipated to be significant.
“Colorado’s livestock producers are understandably anxious about another carnivore on public lands,” CPW noted. “However, the utilization of the 10(j) for management flexibility, and CPW’s commitment to a fair depredation compensation program will hopefully reduce the impact of wolverine restoration on producers.”
The wolverine population must be designated as a nonessential experimental population through a 10(j) rulemaking under the Endangered Species Act. Wolverines are currently listed as a federally protected threatened species, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has the authority to establish a 10(j) rule.
“A planned reintroduction under the management flexibility of a 10(j) rule would bring in about 45 wolverines with a broad genetic background,” said CPW Wolverine Coordinator Dr. Robert Inman. “This will have a far greater chance of establishing a robust long-term population than a single male and female wandering into Colorado, finding each other, and producing enough young to establish a population.”
CPW noted that the establishment of a 10(j) rule was a key component of the legislative process for stakeholder groups that are most likely to be affected by wolverine reintroductions.
All states and provinces that currently have wolverine populations are considered to be potential source populations. The agency ranked each potential source based on ecological similarity and genetic diversity of its population. Southern and central British Columbia and Alberta are the top four potential source populations based on CPW’s considerations.
“Ultimately, however, logistics, identification of willing partners, and the ability of source populations to sustain removals will factor heavily into the source areas for wolverines,” CPW said.
Captures will take place in early winter. However, the agency acknowledged that as there has not previously been a formal reintroduction of wolverines, there are many unknowns regarding release techniques.
Wolverines will be released into three release zones:
• North of Interstate 70 (which includes Rocky Mountain National Park).
• Central Colorado (Elk and West Elk mountains between I-70 and Highway 50).
• Southwest Colorado (San Juan Mountains range).
Wolverine habitat occurs at about 10,000 feet elevation. Over 94% of wolverine habitat is on public land, CPW said.
More details
It is estimated that Colorado can hold about 100 wolverines once the population has been established.
“Fifty to 100 wolverines may not sound like a lot, but that is likely in the same ballpark as the historical capacity here in Colorado,” Inman said. “It would also represent about a quarter of the population in the Lower 48 states. There never were thousands of wolverines in the Lower 48.”
The restoration plan sets benchmarks for the two phases of reintroduction: the establishment phase and the growth phase. It also includes the criteria for removing the species from the state’s endangered list.
The establishment phase is expected to take 1-3 years to complete. The growth phase begins when the establishment phase concludes and will likely be characterized by increases in population size and distribution. Benchmarks will include annual survival of individuals along with breeding and recruitment evidence. The final benchmark for the growth phase will be shown by a population model.
“Success will be achieved when such a model, informed by Colorado-specific estimates of survival and productivity gathered across several years, projects a stable or increasing population,” the plan read. Either phase of the project can be paused or extended as needed.
CPW emphasized that the plan does not replace a federal recovery plan, nor does it outline federal recovery goals. — Anna Miller Fortozo, WLJ managing editor
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