By james art 
In 2020, Voters of Colorado have joined the ballot boxes for a long list of voting questions, one of which seems to influence the Western Fremont and the northern part of Caster County last year. 50.91% of the state voters said “Yes” to Colorado’s proposal 114: The proposal to re -introduce and manage the gray wolves in 2020. And this thin majority put the wheels on the move “Gray wolves” to re -introduce into the state of Colorado S Reflections on the bill by supporters were that wolves would help balance the ecosystem in Colorado, as the packages would remove diseased elk and deer, which would also help the assertion of trees and willows, which are chronically excessive from Ungulates.
According to a Collared Wolves map issued by the Department of Wildlife in Colorado on Wednesday, January 22 Hilside in the Sangre de Christ Desert. This wolf is one of 29 confirmed wolves in the state.
For many locals, this has become a little surprise as most wolves conversations have focused on the extreme northern part of the state in the last few years. Even before the proposal was accepted 114, there was evidence that the wolves had already turned it into the Wyoming state. Still, the ranch in the region admitted that it was only a matter of time before Wolves began to explore the area. Voters in Caster and Fremont voted against the WOLF re -introduction program, with 67% voting no.
To say that the re -introduction of a wolf is hotly contested would be an underestimation. Colorado has created a small fund to help compensate for the sheep or cattle ranch due to a wolf predation. In 2024, Ranchers filed $ 582,000 claims for damage caused by predation wolves, or by stress on herds, reducing weight gain during the year. However, the state has only $ 350,000 in the fund to compensate for losses.
The claims filed by ranches claim that 27 calves and cows were killed by wolves, still disappearing. In addition, more than 1,500 cows showed a lower birth rate and less weight gain in regions lurking by wolves. Out of 4 million heads of the country, approximately 1.5 million of them are in pastures in areas that will be affected by the growing wolf population (keep in mind that approximately 1.8 million of the livestock of the state is limited to repositories every year, which are located in the eastern planes of Colorado).
For comparison, Montana has lost 58 heads of cattle and 41 sheep average annually in the last decade, with approximately 1000 populations of wolves. However, the comparison between Colorado and Montana is imperfect as the state has half the number of cattle and fifth of the human population compared to Colorado. North in British Colombia, wildlife staff have quickly expanded a wolf killing program in an attempt to help the declining number of endangered caribou. Almost 3000 wolves have been killed since the beginning of the program in 2015.
Ironically, wolves in the Wet Mountain Valley area have never been a big problem for the first settlers and livestock operators in the late 1800s. In the newspapers of the Silver Rock, Rucker is only mentioned to the local wolves predators. “It is reported that significant damage is being caused to stock up near Watore from the gray wolves. The slaughter of annuals and calves from wolves is said to be quite difficult. Strvchnine will be used in an attempt to destroy these pests and if this method fails, a hunting wolf will probably be organized. ”
In fact, the risk of wolves to livestock in the region was the chimera and the newspapers at the local level enjoyed the equivalent of Clickbait stories about the devastating impact of wolves in Russia, hungry, Canada and Wyoming. The latest report on possible wolf monitoring in the region was reported in 1907 in the wet mountain rostrum. “Albert Baker spent part of last week down the Gardner side, striving to catch some of those fierce gray wolves, which have been damaging to the herds of the cattle -breeders for some time. He was unsuccessful in receiving all the wolves, but managed to capture 27 coyotes and 3 beans. He also caught a silver gray fox, a fine copy. This type of fox, due to its shortage, was quoted from $ 800 to $ 1,000. ”
According to the Wildlife Division in Colorado, the wolf population was devastated long before the first permanent settlers appeared in Colorado due to hunting and full-scale slaughter of moose and buffalo in Colorado in the mid-1800s. The preferred prey of wolves, moose, were hunted almost to disappearance, and by 1900, less than 1000 elk remained throughout Colorado. The damage caused to herds of moose in the valley seemed to be total, since at that time there was only one mention of moose spotted in the newspapers.
From a historical point of view, this moment in modern times is probably the first time the locals and livestock producers will have to face a ranch with a growing but still small population of wolves in the region. Wildlife staff in Colorado work with a ranch in the state to try to minimize a conflict between wolves and livestock. In one case last year, a pack of wolves was trapped and moved from an area where they hunted calves in early spring, this package would not be released back into the wild in Colorado.
It is clear that the deep division on the topic of wolves, which is often fueled by the urban/rural political division, will continue both locally and at the state level.
– Jordan Hedberg