Wolves in Colorado?

USGS Proposes to reintroduce wolves in Colorado

Last month the USGS issued a proposal for managing the San Luis Valley National Wildlife Refuge Complex this area includes the Alamosa, Baca, and Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuges in Colorado. Tucked away in the 8th page of the overall proposal was one sentence that should scare every hunter in Colorado and the west.

"The elk populations would be reduced on the refuge

complex primarily through hunting and kept at a level
that would foster recovery and improve the long-term
health of native plant communities. The Service would
explore the potential for wolf reintroduction for
balancing wildlife populations."

To see the entire proposal click here - San Louis Valley Plan Update

Being someone that has had a front row seat to the last wolf reintroduction debacle growing up and hunting just south of Yellowstone I can tell you this is a very scary road for Colorado to begin heading down. I can also tell you this is exactly how the, "reintroduction" process begin in Yellowstone, we can only imagine how difficult it would be to ever manage the wolf population in Colorado if Wyoming is still yet to have an established season 18 years later.

Once these vermin are reintroduced there is no getting rid of them!

The same issues that plague us from the Yellowstone reintroduction would in essence be repeated this time around.

1. Using Canadian Grey Wolves instead of the truly native at one time Southern Rocky mountain wolf (yes there is a documented subspecies difference) even though the USGS keeps overlooking this "little difference."

• The main difference between these Subspecies is that Canadian Wolves are 30%-35% larger in body size overall and they maintain a much larger pack structure. Allowing them to hunt much larger prey and have a much higher hunting success rate. This also means they have to kill much more often. If you think it is hard to get a moose tag now just wait until wolves destroy the Colorado moose population. Just this last year Wyoming completely closed what was once the most populated and best trophy unit in the country due to lack of population. From 20+ tags a year to 0 due to wolves.

2. The second and most overlooked problem with releasing wolves into the lower 48 is the restricted winter range. Every year the battle to keep winter range in tack becomes ever more difficult as this winter range diminishes more and more animals are pushed into ever smaller areas. Although this problem is not as exaggerated as areas of Montana and Wyoming where the winter range is so limited that there are supplemental feeding grounds that run throughout the winter, there are still limits on the winter range in Colorado.

Regardless of where you live in Colorado wolf reintroduction will affect your adversely effect your quality of hunting at one point. Wolves travel and travel a lot in fact as many of you may know Yellowstone wolves have been documented in Colorado beginning 2006 lucky these wolves have not taken hold in the state yet. But it is only a matter of time until the wolves spread state wide and even into Utah, New Mexico and Kansas.

The sportsman of Colorado need to send a strong and clear message that wolves will not be accepted in our state!

Please take a few minutes to send a letter or email to the planning team see below:

Deadline for comments is February 24, 2012

Submit comments on the project visit: www.fws.gov/alamosa/planning. Comments will be accepted during the meetings or via letters addressed to: Laurie Shannon, Planning Team Leader, P.O. Box 25486, Denver, CO 80225-0486; or via email to SLVrefugesplanning@fws.gov.

For some reason or another USGS is determined to get rid of hunters in the west and replace our traditions with wild dogs. You can be assured that the pro wolf groups are on top of this issue already, we as sportsman and the true stewards for wildlife need to band together before this gets too far along.

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