Recent legislation in the state of Colorado leaves both cattle ranchers and elk hunters concerned about the future of their animal populations.
Passed on November 3, 2020, Proposition 114 (now known as state statute 33-2-105.8) directs the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) Commission to develop a plan to introduce gray wolves in Colorado west of the Continental Divide. The statute directs the CPW Commission to restore and manage gray wolves in Colorado no later than December 31, 2023. Integrating wolves back into the environment causes stipulations with livestock and economically.
“The 1950s was when we saw the last established [wolf] pack in the state,” said Erin Karney, industry advancement director for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association (CCA). “We’ve heard of wolf sightings for the past 20 years, but nothing significant.”
Diana Matheson, a cattle rancher near Warden, CO gave a brief recount of wolf history in the state. She claims that Yellowstone National Park was created to be a “pristine management paradigm” where people could see what life was like before humans made an impact in the world.
“With Yellowstone, we saw no management of elk,” Matheson said. “The elk migrated to private ranch lands, so they introduced the wolves to manage the elk.”
For the longest time, gray wolves have been on the Endangered Species list, so efforts in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado were taken to reintroduce them. The Idaho Fish and Game reintroduced wolves in 1995 and 1996, and those eventually migrated to Montana.
“Both Montana and Idaho have done a good job managing the overpopulation of wolves,” said Matheson. “The wolves then migrated to Wyoming and now we have eight living in our backyard, literally – a breeding pair, six pups, and two others.”
On Thursday, February 10, 2022, the United States District Court vacated the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s (USFWS) 2020 rule delisting gray wolves across the lower 48 states. The ruling returns management authority of gray wolves in Colorado to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) has been in communication with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) regarding wolf management from the outset of this restoration and management planning effort. In fact, USFWS is represented on the Technical Working Group that has been assembled by CPW in planning efforts for reintroducing the species. CPW is reviewing the court’s decision and is in contact with the USFWS to understand the implications of this decision on Colorado’s gray wolf reintroduction process.
Other big game, such as bears and mountain lions, haven’t proved to be an issue.
“Livestock, both sheep and cattle, have been grazing in concert with bears, mountain lions, and elk for many years,” said Terry Fankhauser, vice president of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. “But now you’ve introduced something that is at the top of the food chain, killing and hurting livestock with the potential of decreasing production of the animals we consume for food.”
According to both Karney and Fankhauser, there are big financial implications of the reintroduction.
“We have gone to great financial lengths over the past several years to raise awareness of the problem of reintroduction,” said Karney. “We raised the polling numbers from 35 percent originally being opposed to them to over 45 percent. And we lost by just a percentage when it went to a ballot vote last fall.”
The financial coin is also flipped to the other side. The constituents of Colorado will soon see the effects of this as well. Fankhauser explained that the Technical Working Group has the potential to spend between $2 to $2.5 million in the planning process.
“Taxpayers don’t realize that business and the economy will be affected,” Fankhauser said. “Hunting is a huge economic driver in this state. Every time an in-state resident buys a hunting license, they chip in $50. An out-of-state license costs $500 and that doesn’t even cover lodging or food.”
Colorado has the largest population of elk in the lower 48 states. With minimizing elk populations due to the wolves, hunting will be severely impacted, along with the livestock populations.
The eight wolves near Walden have already affected a ranch severely.
“Within a 15-mile radius of my home and ranch, a dog, heifer, two cows, and multiple elk have been killed,” Matheson explained. “Once wolves are in the midst of the cattle, it’s like death by a thousand cuts for a rancher.”
Matheson went on to explain that the bigger picture is beef production as a whole. Cattle are herd animals; they stick together for the most part. When you introduce a predator, it changes their behavior, reducing fertility, increasing nervousness, difficulty to use stock dogs, reduced rate of gain, abortions, weight loss, lack of utilization of pasture space and several other factors immediately go into play. It continues to get worse when wolves are consistently around them.
“I was at a meeting one time where a wolf advocate said that ‘she had no knowledge of anyone going out of business because of wolves,’” said Matheson. “There is no one tracking if a rancher or outfitter goes out of business because of wolves, they just think it’s the economy. What they fail to realize is that every single factor contributes to ranchers losing money.”
In addition to the lack of awareness around the economic and animal welfare implications of the re-introduction, there’s also compensation for lost livestock to keep in mind.
“At this point, there is no management or compensation plan for ranchers,” said Fankhauser. “They have considered implementing herd riders, but where is the funding for it? Furthermore, our ranchers need to be compensated for lost livestock. Wolf advocates are picky about choosing which species to support, and livestock are not their favorite.”
Currently, if an animal is found dead and claimed to be taken by a wolf, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Service must be called and must find bite marks from the wolf on the carcass. Often, the only thing to be seen is the bones and paw prints all around the carcass. From there, a rancher must show how much that animal was worth.
“It’s tough to value a 6-year-old cow,” Matheson explained. “If a bull is killed, it’s easy to find the receipt of sale. And then, if it’s worth $8,000, the state will only pay up to $5,000 in damages for an animal. A black Angus purebred cow typically only gets half of market value in compensation. That doesn’t add up.”
Ranchers near Walden are searching for solutions to minimize the number of times wolves enter their property. Currently, the approved list of distractions for wolves includes yelling, hazing, rubber bullets, guard dogs, propane canons, fox lights and fladry fence (costing upwards of $15,000 a mile to install). However, many of the solutions are not available due to supply shortages.
“Even if ranchers put of fladry fence, these wolves are smart,” Fankhauser said. “The wolves have pups, and then when they are old enough to be trained, they are taught on livestock. They know the schedules of the livestock, they know when humans are around, and they show up when the humans leave.”
Multiple organizations in Colorado are providing outreach for ranchers and outfitters. The CCA has monthly calls that highly encourage rancher comments. The Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan has a public engagement website (www.wolfengagementco.org) where ranchers and outfitters are able to voice their concerns and issues they are facing. However, there is a huge rising concern that this issue is only going to continue to grow.
“We might not immediately be impacted in parts of the state,” said Karney. “But all ranchers will be affected at some point.”
ALWAYS REMEMBER TO EAT BEEF.
Lauren