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As re-introduced gray wolves cross state lines protection ends
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Approved, State, thelobby-co.com

As re-introduced gray wolves cross state lines protection ends

By The Lobby Wyoming ranchers are expressing their concern as gray wolves reintroduced into Colorado have been spotted near the state line. The proximity of these wolves to Wyoming raises fears about potential conflicts with livestock and poses a threat to the livelihoods of ranchers. While wolves in Colorado are federally protected and cannot be hunted or killed by the general public, once they cross into Wyoming's vast "predator zone," they lose their protected status and can be shot on sight. There have already been reports of conflicts. In September, at least one wolf was killed after crossing into Wyoming, according to reports by ranchers and stakeholders. However, Wyoming officials declined to confirm the incident, citing an 11-year-old state policy that keeps the identity o...
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Wolf captured on camera near road in Colorado
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Approved, denvergazette.com, State

Wolf captured on camera near road in Colorado

By Spencer McKee | Out There Colorado Another wolf sighting has been captured on camera in Colorado, about a month and a half after the species was formally reintroduced to the state. An article from 9News reports that the wolf was spotted last Thursday near Kremmling, with a rancher capturing footage from the road. This is at least the second time a wolf sighting has been publicized since reintroduction, with at least 10 wolves known to be roaming the state. READ THE FULL STORY AT OUT THERE COLORADO
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Wolf suit against CPW challenges process of reintroduction
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Approved, State, thefencepost.com

Wolf suit against CPW challenges process of reintroduction

By Rachel Gabel  | The Fence Post The Colorado Conservation Alliance filed a lawsuit in Federal Court against the United States Fish and Wildlife Commission, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission, Dan Gibbs in his capacity as the executive director of Colorado Department of Natural Resources, and Jeff Davis in his capacity as director of CPW on Dec. 14, 2023. The CCA has challenged the defendants’ process for wolf introduction in the state of Colorado and said in a release, their legal challenge is two-fold. First, after review by wildlife experts and veterinarians, the CCA believes that the environmental impact statement (EIS) issued by USFWS supporting the 10(j) rule is significantly deficient under the requirements of the federal National Environmenta...
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Colo. lawmakers bring the heat on CPW leadership regarding wolf release
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Approved, State, thefencepost.com

Colo. lawmakers bring the heat on CPW leadership regarding wolf release

SOURCE: THE FENCE POST Department of Natural Resources Director Dan Gibbs, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Director Jeff Davis, and CPW Assistant Director Reid DeWalt appeared before the joint agriculture committees this week during the agency’s SMART Act hearing. Sen. Dylan Roberts, a Democrat lawmaker who represents Senate District 8, including Jackson, Summit, and Grand Counties, asked why the wolves released came from packs with recent depredation. Davis pointed out, “sometimes people forget these are carnivores,” a comment that drew criticism from Rep. Richard Holtorf, R- Akron, who called the reminder laughable. He also said there is a difference between depredation and chronic depredation. Roberts asked Davis in a letter earlier in the week to either release a proposed rule def...
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Map released showing where Colorado wolves roamed
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Approved, denvergazette.com, Local, Western Slope

Map released showing where Colorado wolves roamed

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 conser...
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Colorado lawmakers put pressure on wildlife officials to help ranchers protect livestock from wolves
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, Local, Western Slope

Colorado lawmakers put pressure on wildlife officials to help ranchers protect livestock from wolves

By Marianne Goodland | SOURCE: COLORADO POLITICS After losing more than a dozen livestock and four cattle dogs to wolf attacks, Jackson County rancher Don Gittleson is getting help from lawmakers, who asked wildlife officials to immediately reconsider their decision denying a request to remove the depredating animals from the area.  Gittleson said repeated pleas to Colorado Parks and Wildlife to deal with these wolves have been ignored, other telling him to employ "non-lethal" methods to scare the wolves off. These methods have not worked, Gittleson said. Now, state lawmakers are stepping into the fray. State Sen. Dylan Roberts, D-Frisco, and House Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, penned a letter to CPW Director Jeff Davis on Monday, chastising the agency for failing to ...
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Paws are on the Ground
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Approved, State, The Western Slope Statesman

Paws are on the Ground

Proposition 114 has been fulfilled after 3 years of strife. Here's how it happened. By Rep. Matthew Soper | SOURCE: The Western Slope Statesman Proposition 114 puts in statute that gray wolves should be reintroduced “on designated land west of the continental divide” by December 31st, 2023. These “designated lands west of the continental divide” are what we colloquially refer to as the Western Slope of Colorado. The purpose of the proposition, according to the environmentalists, is to “restore balance” to Colorado’s ecosystems. For those of us living on the West Slope, it means an assault on our way of life by jeopardizing our ranching, hunting/guiding, tourism, and outdoor recreation economies. Colorado’s reintroduction effort followed reintroduction efforts b...
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Colorado announces agreement with Washington state tribes to obtain more wolves
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado announces agreement with Washington state tribes to obtain more wolves

By Marianne Goodland | SOURCE: COLORADO POLITICS Colorado's wildlife officials on Friday announced reaching an agreement with indigenous tribes in Washington state to capture 10 to 15 wolves that will be released in Colorado at the end of the year. The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation will allow Colorado Parks and Wildlife, part of the state's Department of Natural Resources, to catch wolves on tribal lands from December 2024 through March 2025, the prime capture season. “We are grateful to the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation for working with our agency on this critical next step in reintroducing gray wolves in the state,” said CPW Director Jeff Davis. “This agreement helps CPW to continue to meet our unanimously adopted Colorado Wolf Restoratio...
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Time to stop ballot box wildlife policy before Polis brings in the Grizzlies
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Approved, coloradopeakpolitics.com, Local, Western Slope

Time to stop ballot box wildlife policy before Polis brings in the Grizzlies

SOURCE: COLORADO PEAK POLITICS A Western Slope lawmaker is making it his mission to stop city folk from playing with wildlife policy at the ballot box and forcing any more apex predators down the throats of rural areas that don’t want it. Republican State Sen. Perry Will says he’s introducing a bill this session to stop the madness with these dangerous mandates. Will told the Delta County Independent in a recent interview that he’s tired of ballot box policy from people who don’t have any skin the game. “This bill’s going to show the governor and hopefully a whole lot of other people how you reintroduce a species the right way with the professionals doing it. By running this bill, we will avoid an initiative to reintroduce wolverines. It’s going to be a good message ...
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‘A wolf in sheep’s clothing’
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Approved, Local, Rural Colorado, thefencepost.com

‘A wolf in sheep’s clothing’

By Bob West, Colorado rancher and author of Twenty Miles of Fence; Blueprint of a Cowboy | SOURCE: thefencepost.com I really have nothing against wolves, they are beautiful majestic animals, whose eerie nighttime howls from the packs, echo across the American west. Their calls are heard in the rural “wild” spaces, not the urban cities where the voters of Colorado gathered enough votes, by a slim margin, to overturn the overwhelming will of the rest of Colorado. Old news, brings the reality of the wolf introduction recently, applauded by many and dreaded by ranchers like me that soon will be on the front lines of the impending “wolf conflict.” Recently this very publication, The Fence Post, was accused of fear mongering, when a journalist called foul, rooted in excellent truthful repo...
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