Wolves are being reintroduced into Colorado. In effort to make wolves permanent in Colorado’s wildlife, Proposition 114 is a proposition that calls for the wolf reintroduction on lands west of the continental divide. According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, “the Parks and Wildlife Commission passed the final Colorado wolf restoration and management plan.” Wolves are being reintroduced as a way of increasing biodiversity among Colorado’s wildlife. Colorado Parks and Wildlife stated its team “had completed an agreement to capture 10 grey wolves in Oregon for release in Colorado”.
The Wolf reintroduction can help manage deer and elk populations and keep the population In check. Mr. Muth an, AP Biology and Environmental Science teacher at Coronado, was asked about his thoughts on the wolf reintroduction and he said, “Wolves are an important apex predator/keystone species and play a significant role in the overall biodiversity and health of the ecosystem and reintroduction programs have been very successful in sparsely populated areas like Yellowstone.”
The negative effects of bringing the wolves back are harassment and depredation of livestock, guard or herd dogs, and even property damage. “Bringing back an apex predator certainly has ecological benefits, however, there are also drawbacks. These drawbacks can be attributed to misperceptions about wolves. Here in Colorado, I think one of the drawbacks is that it was voter driven with people in urban areas being in favor and people in rural areas (where wolves are likely to be introduced) against it,” Said Mrs. Morey, an Environmental science and Biology teacher at Coronado High School.
Wolves were removed from Colorado wildlife because of the depredation of domestic animals and livestock. The wolves were removed from Colorado by shooting, poisoning, and trapping. According to usatoday.com, the last wolf was killed in 1945. There have been a few sightings of wolves in Colorado in recent years, and in 2019 it was confirmed that a female wolf naturally migrated into Colorado’s wildlife. And now wolfs are finally making a comeback into Colorado.