On Feb. 10, a federal court struck down a 2020 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision removing federal protections from gray wolves across much of the U.S., including Colorado. The new ruling stated that the USFWS action to delist wolves failed to appropriately implement the Endangered Species Act requirements.
As a result of this ruling, wolves in Colorado are once again protected as “endangered” under both state and federal law. Subsequently, USFWS now has authority over gray wolf management in Colorado.
Therefore, now is the time for Colorado Parks and Wildlife to work with USFWS to gain the federal authorization needed for the Colorado wolf reintroduction plan, as required by Proposition 114.
The most likely route for this partnership would be for USFWS to determine if CPW’s wolf management plan (currently under development) meets federal standards and then designate wolves in Colorado as a “nonessential experimental” population. CPW may then proceed with the reintroduction. But CPW must act quickly to gain federal authorization. The agencies have conferred about this possibility, but it’s unclear whether progress has occurred.
Part of the court’s rationale for its Feb. 10 ruling was that gray wolf populations had not met federal recovery criteria and, therefore, needed a reinstatement of ESA protection.
To move toward proper recovery under the ESA, these two agencies must work together posthaste to provide clear guidance and support to livestock producers, and to protect our gray wolf population here in Colorado.
Kathleen O’Connor
Durango
