The clock is ticking for wolves to be brought into the state of Colorado, and ranchers in the state are taking legal action against the agencies responsible for the task.
On Dec. 11, the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) and Gunnison County Stockgrowers Association (GCSA) filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado against the state’s plan to introduce wolves by the end of the year. The ranching groups are concerned with the potential negative impacts that wolf introduction will bring upon their members and rural communities.
“We believe that much of our input, and that of many others across Western Colorado, was diminished by the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission,” said Andy Spann, GCSA president and a rancher from Gunnison, in a news release. “We regret that a course of litigation on this and other issues seems to be the only recourse left to have these concerns legitimately addressed.”
The complaint against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) alleges the agencies failed to resolve members’ concerns during the public input process and violated the National Environmental Policy Act by moving forward with an endangered species cooperative management agreement to authorize the release.
“Throughout the state’s wolf introduction processes, Colorado Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) leadership and members dedicated time and effort to ensuring livestock production and rural communities are protected,” said CCA President Robert Farnam in a statement. “We regard this path of litigation not out of a desire for conflict, but rather as a testament to our unwavering commitment to supporting Colorado’s agriculture community and producers of the western slope.”
The litigation contends USFWS should have conducted an environmental impact statement review of its cooperative management agreement and seeks to delay wolf release until “the proper environmental impact review has been conducted,” according to the associations’ news release.
“In the interim, the associations are grateful for the Colorado Parks and Wildlife partnership and the finalized FWS 10(j) rule, which went into effect on December 8th, to provide Colorado producers management flexibility for potential wolf and livestock interactions,” the release continued.
U.S. District Judge Regina M. Rodriguez scheduled a hearing for Dec. 14 (after WLJ press time) to hear arguments and consider the groups’ request. Ranchers are asking the judge to issue an injunction and temporary restraining order on the wolf release plan.
Feds say the livestock groups are unlikely to succeed with their argument that officials did not follow federal law when renewing the cooperative management agreement. “If CPW’s program for the conservation of endangered species and threatened species is ‘adequate and active,’ the service must enter into the cooperative agreement,” USFWS said. “There is no room for the exercise of discretion.”
Following the ranchers’ complaint, environmental groups were quick to respond.
“Conflicts between wolves and livestock are exceedingly rare, and CPW has gone to great lengths to ensure that ranchers are taken care of,” claimed Ryan Sedgeley of the Endangered Species Coalition. “There is expertise and resources on the ground ready to minimize conflict. And the Colorado General Assembly has put money aside for compensation.”
Colorado is set to capture five wolves from Oregon and release them in Eagle, Grand or Summit counties. CPW agreed not to release any wolves until after the hearing concluded. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
