Ten to fifteen grey wolves will be released on the Western Slope by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. More wolves entering the state could endanger the livelihoods of certain livestock producers, they fear.
On the other hand, some wolf supporters support the reintroduction and suggest a fresh reason to save the species.
With more than 35,000 members, Rocky Mountain Wolf Project is a nonprofit organization centered in Durango. The group was instrumental in the 2020 effort to reintroduce wolves to the state.
The organization has suggested offering a $50,000 award to stop poaching of wolves.
“One of the things that we were concerned about is that the level of reward for poaching that is offered by the state through Operation Game Thief, is not sufficient given the political nature of wolves,” Rob Edward, president of the Rocky Mountain Wolf Project stated.
This funding will be awarded to anybody who come forward with evidence that results in a conviction against a wolf killer, even though Colorado law already forbids killing wolves. According to the group’s members, expanding these monies is crucial to wolf protection in Colorado.
Although the foundation had been preparing this incentive for some time, it was launched in September when a wolf’s hind leg was found to have an old, healed gunshot wound in Grand County.
There is still a lot of tension between livestock ranchers and wolf advocacy organizations. Janie VanWinkle, a local rancher, finds the contentious nature of this topic frustrating.
“I’m extremely disappointed… If we want wolf introduction to be successful in the state of Colorado, we need collaboration… not one side versus the other,” she stated.
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In western Colorado, VanWinkle is a fourth-generation rancher. Although she acknowledges that it is not a long-term solution, she claims that producers have complied with all requests made by wolf advocates.
The next phase of wolf reintroduction is scheduled for December through mid-March of next year, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
