By Luige Del Puerto | SOURCE: DENVER GAZETTE
Colorado wildlife officials on Wednesday published a map showing where wolves have roamed in the past month, but it does not pinpoint where the animals are in real time.
To protect the wolves, officials said they won’t release specific GPS data.
The administration of Gov. Jared Polis produced the map on the day legislators grilled wildlife officials over what policymakers described as communication failures and problems tied to the release of wolves in Grand and Summit counties last month.
During a hearing, lawmakers said the state mishandled communications, destroying trust with ranchers and landowners. They said those ranchers and land owners are now saying they will no longer work with the state’s wildlife division on conservation issues.
The Polis administration faced intense criticism from ranchers, farmers and legislators who accused Colorado Parks and Wildlife of failing to keep a promise that “no one would be surprised” when the wolves are released. Wildlife officials acknowledged during the hearing that they failed to meet that expectation.