The plan to introduce wolves into Colorado is complicated because wolves are listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and the federal government is preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) as required under National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The deadline for submitting information for consideration in the EIS was Aug. 22. I submitted the following comments on Aug. 19:
“Please consider these comments regarding the establishment of a nonessential experimental population of the gray wolf in Colorado.
1. The NEPA and EIS process regarding introduction of wolves to Colorado should consider available science. I’ve prepared reports that provide background information and analyses that can help predict the numbers of wolves that might populate Colorado and the numbers of prey animals they will kill. These reports are attached. Please consider these reports as part of my comments.
2. Wolves should be managed by the Colorado Department of Parks and Wildlife. Wolf management by the state of Montana has been effective in maintaining viable wolf populations and can provide guidance for Colorado. The state of Colorado can implement a similar management program.
3. Issues regarding wolf subspecies and Colorado, including the source of introduced wolves and possible interactions with Mexican gray wolves, need to be assessed with rigorous science. (See Cronin et al. 2015 in the references online for relevant science on this issue.) This (is) a complex issue, but acknowledgement of the subjectivity of the subspecies category is necessary for legitimate scientific assessments.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this issue.”
My comments and others can be seen at regulations.gov.
The reports I included in my comments are in the references found online at wlj.net. Preliminary findings in these reports are:
1. Considering potential wolf habitat in Colorado as one-third of the area west of Interstate Highway 25, the potential number of wolves in Colorado is 672 to 1,108 wolves.
2. An estimated annual prey rate of wolves preying on elk is 17 elk per wolf per year.
3. An estimate of the potential number of elk killed by wolves per year in Colorado is 11,269 to 18,581 elk per year.
4. Following the delisting of wolves from the ESA, the states of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming have managed wolves and controlled them when they prey on livestock. This has resulted in stable wolf populations.
Pete Crow’s excellent column in the Aug. 15WLJissue sums up many of the concerns that stockmen have about wolves. Ranchers, outfitters, hunters and wildlife managers will have to deal with the presence of wolves in Colorado, while the environmental groups pushing for wolf introduction have little regard for the hardship imposed by wolves on others and the suffering of livestock and wildlife that will be the wolves’ prey.
Given the reality of environmental regulations and unending lawsuits, I think the best way to deal with the planned wolf introduction in Colorado is to have wolves managed by the state to prevent the loss of livestock and minimize the impacts on game populations. — Dr. Matthew Cronin
(Matthew Cronin is a scientist at Northwest Biology Company LLC in Bozeman, MT. You can email him at croninm@aol.com for the reports in the references and other information on wolves and endangered species.)
References
Cronin, M.A., et al. 2015. Wolf Subspecies. Journal of Heredity. 106:417-419.
Cronin, M.A. 2020a. Wolves in Colorado: Insights from Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. Unpublished report, Northwest Biology Company LLC, Bozeman, Montana, June 2020.
Cronin, M.A. 2020b. Hypotheses: Wolves in Colorado. Unpublished report, Northwest Biology Company LLC, Bozeman, Montana, July 2020.
Cronin, M.A. 2020c. Hypotheses: Wolf Predation on Elk in Colorado. Unpublished Report, Northwest Biology Company LLC, Bozeman, Montana, August 2020.
