Balancing the economic wins, losses from the reintroduction of wolves
From The Fence Post:
In 2020, Colorado voters narrowly approved the reintroduction of gray wolves, which will happen later this year. New research from Colorado State University’s Regional Economic Development Institute estimates that the benefits to those who voted “yes” will be about $115 million per year, more than 50 times the estimated government spending for ranchers experiencing losses due to predation.
Almost 90% of those benefits fall in the Front Range, where very few people will ever encounter a wolf, explained Dana Hoag, lead author of the study and agriculture and resource economics professor. On the other side, about 5.4% of those same benefits fall on the Western Slope, where almost all of the costs will occur.
