By Rachel Gabel | The Fence Post
Twenty-six Colorado agriculture and livestock organizations have sent a letter to British Columbia wildlife officials asking them to reconsider a decision to allow the export of wolves to Colorado.
Tim Ritschard, president of the Middle Park Stockgrowers, said other states and Native American Tribes within the United States have declined to allow Colorado to take wolves from their jurisdictions, and British Columbia should as well.
Ritchard explained that in refusing Colorado’s request for its wolves, the Wind River Inter-Tribal Council cited growing public opposition to the wolf introduction program in Colorado and the extremely close vote that started the program. The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation rescinded their agreement to provide wolves after learning that Colorado had failed to consult with the Southern Ute Indian Tribe about the proposed wolf introduction project. Idaho cited the strong disagreements over how wolves should be managed that have “fostered mistrust and social conflict among our rural communities, hunters, trappers, other outdoor recreation users, agricultural interests, wolf advocates, conservation organizations, and governmental entities.”