STEAMBOAT SPRINGS The commission tasked by voters to develop a plan to reintroduce gray wolves in Colorado by the end of 2023 will reportedly take its time to gather feedback from a wide variety of stakeholders.
The prodding pace has garnered pushback from supporters of reintroduction who say such a long process could make the Colorado Parks and Wildlife commission miss the deadline for wolves to be released set by voters in November.
“We’re very early in the process,” said Commission Chair Marvin McDaniel. “There is a lot of strong commitment by every commissioner to involve the folks on the Western Slope or anywhere that is going to be affected by this.”
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A male grey wolf walks through a snowy field in Wyoming. Wyoming has an estimated 311 grey wolves living in the state following their reintroduction to Yellowstone National Park in the mid-1990s.
As Colorado embarks on an effort to reintroduce gray wolves, two competing packs are starting to form.
One wants to run, and the other wants to walk.
Gov. Jared Polis is leading the pack wanting to speed up the process, saying wolves “take care of themselves” and will be easier to release into the landscape than other animals Colorado has already brought back, including the Canada lynx and the black-footed ferret.