COLORADO, USA — The first step in a plan to reintroduce gray wolves to Colorado will be to get the community involved, according to a plan put out by the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) Commission on Friday.
Voters passed an initiative that asked to allow CPW to reintroduce and manage grey wolves west of the Continental Divide by the end of 2023 in November.
>> Video above: Colorado Parks and Wildlife says recent sightings and video suggest gray wolves are back
During a virtual meeting on Jan. 14, CPW approved the initial phases of the reintroduction process.
Between February and May, CPW will hold virtual meetings where the public can ask questions, share concerns and give wolf reintroduction input.
The exact dates and links to participate in these meetings will be posted on CPW's Wolf Management Page.
Two groups will also be created to serve as advisory bodies to the commission: a Technical Working Group and a Stakeholder Working Group.
The Technical Working Group would initially be responsible for:
- Proposing of conservation objectives and management strategies that CPW will incorporate into its draft plan
- Developing the details of the damage prevention and compensation program.
The Stakeholder Advisory Group will:
- Support development of draft strategies by representing a range of viewpoints and geographic areas within the state
- Make substantive contributions for consideration to the plan(s) developed by the Technical Working Group
Those interested in applying to be on the stakeholder advisory group can find more information here.
Gray wolves were present in Colorado until roughly the 1930s when they were eradicated from much of the western U.S.
A wolf pack has recently been spotted in northern Colorado, and the species has been reintroduced in Idaho and Montana as well as Yellowstone National Park in the 1990s.
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