Wolf management plan introduced

A state that allowed the eradication of wolves by the 1930s should do nothing to thwart their expected return.

That was the recommendation made Thursday by a diverse group of Coloradans who have spent months shaping a plan on how the state should react to the migration of gray wolves from Montana or Wyoming.

Most experts believe a natural migration of wolves from the northwest is only a matter of time. In fact, at least one has already made it here: A gray wolf found dead on Interstate 70 near Denver in June was traced to a pack in Yellowstone National Park.

In many ways, the plan recommends the state shape its management of wolves along the lines of plans in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, where an estimated 900 animals roam after a contentious reintroduction in the past two decades.

The group that shaped Colorado's plan was made up of livestock producers, hunters and environmentalists, and they skirted some controversial issues, including whether there should be an active reintroduction of wolves.

But Del Benson, a member of the group and a professor at Colorado State University, said members tried to craft a plan that addressed both the fears of livestock producers and the hopes of environmentalists and the two-thirds of Coloradans that surveys show want wolves back in the state.

"Wolves are not simple to talk about," he said. "They are sociological symbols, both praised and despised."

Among the major recommendations of the group:

Wolves should be allowed to live anywhere in the state without boundaries.

A variety of nonlethal measures should be used to move or scare away wolves that present a threat to livestock, and ranchers should receive incentives for learning how to change their husbandry practices to discourage problems with wolves.

Livestock producers should have the right to kill wolves they find in the act of attacking their animals.

Wildlife officers can kill wolves if they have an adverse and ongoing impact on big game populations.

Livestock producers should be compensated for animals killed by wolves, probably through a fund set up by the Defenders of Wildlife that is paying ranchers in the three northern states.

A public education program should be funded to teach Coloradans the truth about wolves and dispel myths that surround them.

Money to manage wolves and repay stockmen for losses should not come from revenues generated by fishing and hunting fees.

Mary Kline, a member of the group who raises sheep in Peyton and Delta, said the plan is a compromise, but no one should get the idea that livestock producers are happy about the possible reappearance of wolves.

She said the plan does not allow ranchers to kill wolves who are clearly getting ready to attack livestock but who haven't actually got a chunk of cow or sheep in their mouths.

"Wouldn't you like to take action before that happens?" she said.

Still, she said the plan does allow management of wolves -- using nonlethal and lethal methods -- on a case-by-case basis, and she called that a "step in the right direction."

Mike Bond, a member of the wolf group who represented the interests of hunters, said he was initially skeptical about encouraging the return of wolves.

But he dug up every study done on the effects of wolves on elk and deer populations -- 71 total -- and was "astonished" to find the studies say they have a minimal or insignificant effect on overall big game numbers.

Rather, he said, he found evidence that wolves play a valuable role by culling out sick and weak deer and elk, which reduces the spread of disease.

They also help improve backcountry habitat by scaring some big game populations into moving before they overgraze an area, he said.

Dyanne Singler of the National Wildlife Federation and a member of the wolf group said environmentalists didn't get all they'd hoped for in the plan, particularly action toward reintroduction of the species into the state.

But she said the proposed plan sets the stage for welcoming back a part of Colorado's wildlife heritage.

"They're not icons of good and evil," she said. "They're just animals."

The Colorado Division of Wildlife will hold a series of statewide meetings on the plan next month. It will take public comment and add its own suggestions. Then it will present a final plan to the wildlife commission and to the agency's director, and their approval is expected in May.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0197 or mckeown@gazette.com

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