Embattled wolves gain a new frontier in Democratic Colorado. The move is stoking political tensions

From AP News:

DENVER, Colo. (AP) — Wildlife officials plan to release gray wolves in Colorado in coming weeks, at the behest of urban voters and to the dismay of rural residents who don’t want the predators but have waning influence in the Democratic-led state.

The most ambitious wolf reintroduction effort in the U.S. in almost three decades marks a sharp departure from aggressive efforts by Republican-led states to cull wolf packs. More releases planned for Colorado over the next several years will start to fill in one of the last remaining major gaps in the western U.S. for a species that historically ranged from northern Canada to the desert southwest.

 

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MEXICAN WOLVES GO AFTER SAME PREY AS GRAY WOLVES

From The Wildlife Society:

Despite their smaller size, Mexican wolves prey on the same species as their larger gray wolf cousins to the north—and in nearly the same quantity.

Many researchers have looked into gray wolf diet in northern states and in Canada. But nobody had ever published research on the diet of Mexican wolves, despite a number of informal work and field observations.

 

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Lawsuit to delay wolf reintroduction in Colorado filed in U.S. District Court

From Colorado Politics:

The Colorado Cattlemen’s Association and the Gunnison County Stockgrowers Association are suing to prevent the introduction of gray wolves in the state.

The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, named the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Colorado Parks and Wildlife as defendants, according to a statement from the plaintiffs.

 

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Can Colorado Sustain Wolf Recovery?

From The Wildlife News:

A recent NPR radio story titled: “Is Colorado Too Crowded To Support Wolves” suggested that with 6 million residents, there wasn’t enough habitat to sustain wolves.

I’ve been involved with wolf restoration since the 1980s, first in Montana and Idaho, then later in Oregon.

 

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Wolves to be released on Western Slope in upcoming weeks

From Sky-Hi News:

Ten wolves are set to arrive in Colorado this month. On Nov. 9, wildlife officials prepared local residents for wolf reintroduction during an open house at the Colorado State University Extension Hall in Kremmling.

The meeting was led by Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff: Jeromy Huntington, area wildlife manager; Ellen Brandell, wildlife research scientist; and Adam Baca, wolf conflict coordinator. USDA wildlife specialist Lauren Emerick and past Colorado Cattlemen’s Association president and Walden rancher Philip Anderson also led the meeting.

 

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Colorado’s gray wolf reintroduction plan sparks political divide

From Fox News:

Wildlife officials plan to release gray wolves in Colorado in coming weeks, at the behest of urban voters and to the dismay of rural residents who don’t want the predators but have waning influence in the Democratic-led state.

The most ambitious wolf reintroduction effort in the U.S. in almost three decades marks a sharp departure from aggressive efforts by Republican-led states to cull wolf packs. More releases planned for Colorado over the next several years will start to fill in one of the last remaining major gaps in the western U.S. for a species that historically ranged from northern Canada to the desert southwest.

 

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Conflicts over wolves mostly ‘social, governance issues’

From The Journal:

The restoration of wolves to Colorado is an historic conservation effort to return and preserve the integrity of wild ecosystems in the Southern Rocky Mountains. This is why I feel compelled to respond to an article recently appearing in The Durango Herald, originating from The Colorado Sun, “How are wildlife officials preparing Coloradans for wolf reintroduction? With a brochure.”

That article fell woefully short of acknowledging the multidimensional effort conducted by Colorado Parks and Wildlife in both wolf restoration and conflict minimization, and served to further tiresome misinformation.

 

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Angry deer hunters rally against wolves, DNR, Democrats

From Duluth News Tribune:

CARLTON — Deer hunters across Minnesota must rally together and pressure politicians in St. Paul and Washington to remove wolves from federal endangered species protections and allow an open season to cull their numbers.

That was the message to a packed meeting Wednesday night organized by the new northern Minnesota-based group Hunters For Hunters in a steamy upstairs room of the Four Seasons Sports Complex.

 

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Angry deer hunters rally against wolves, DNR, Democrats

From the Bemidji Pioneer:

CARLTON — Deer hunters across Minnesota must rally together and pressure politicians in St. Paul and Washington to remove wolves from federal endangered species protections and allow an open season to cull their numbers.

That was the message to a packed meeting Wednesday night organized by the new northern Minnesota-based group Hunters For Hunters in a steamy upstairs room of the Four Seasons Sports Complex.

 

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Asha the Lobo captures the heart of New Mexico

From Source NM:

Lobos are culturally and environmentally significant to New Mexico and a Mexican gray wolf that wildlife experts say is resilient in face of peril and breaks assumptions, something many New Mexicans can relate too, is back after a long trip.

Asha the Mexican gray wolf #2754 has now returned to the northern part of the state for the second time in under a year, creating excitement for wildlife experts and hope among conservation groups.

 

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