DENVER (AP) — Colorado Parks and Wildlife will begin the procedure to introduce Oregon wolves into the state on Sunday, with an initial release date imaginable for the animals on Monday, state officials said in a federal ruling Thursday.
The logistics around the release are still finalized and depend on several factors besides the weather and how the wolves are transported to the state, said an attorney representing the state.
“It would barely begin to describe the logistics that led to this moment in meeting voter demands and the governor’s strong preference for us to meet that deadline,” said Lisa Reynolds of the state attorney general’s office. .
His remarks came Thursday at the end of a roughly three-hour hearing on whether the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service will continue to rule on whether the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service will continue to do so. The U. S. government followed the correct procedure in making plans for the reintroduction of wolves. Several groups opposed the reintroduction, including the Gunnison County Breeders Association and the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association filed a lawsuit Monday seeking a judgment to delay the reintroduction.
The lawsuit claims that the Fish and Wildlife Service deserves to have conducted environmental impact reviews beyond what has already been done. On Thursday, state attorneys called the filing a “last-minute” attempt to delay a proceeding that has been underway for years. Under Proposition 114, which passed in 2020 by a narrow margin of 57,000 votes, wolves will need to be reintroduced to the state before the end of this year.
Judge Regina Rodriguez asked when the release was scheduled and when she would like to rule on the request to postpone the trial. The State informed the report that once the animals were captured, they were kept in cages for long periods of time. The time to avoid court muggings is stressful and “very bad for the wolves” because their tranquilizers will be gone.
Upon learning of the state’s plans, she said she would try to have her decision out by Friday.
The wolves are set to be released on private or state lands somewhere in Eagle, Grand or Summit counties.
West Slope ranchers protested the decision, raising considerations about the death of their livestock and the irreparable loss of their lives. In response, the state created a fund to provide $15,000 for any livestock killed by wolves. The federal government also issued a 10(j) ruling, making wolves classified in Colorado and allowing ranchers to kill the animals if they attack their livestock.
Oregon state officials agreed to supply wolves for Colorado’s reintroduction after several other states, including Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, refused to do so. The Colorado government plans to capture five wolves in Oregon, tranquilize them, and then send them to Colorado. Only five wolves can board the shipping plane at a time, Reynolds said. It is also conceivable that they will want to be driven to the state, which takes at least two days.
CPW plans to put tracking collars on the wolves before releasing them into the state.
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