Colorado ranching groups sue state, federal agencies to delay wolf reintroduction

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Two Colorado ranching organizations have filed a complaint against state and federal agencies requesting the reintroduction of wolves into the state be delayed.

The lawsuit filed Monday by the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association and Gunnison County Stockgrowers Association comes just weeks before state officials were to release up to 10 gray wolves under a 2020 state law. The suit names the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Colorado Parks and Wildlife as defendants, according to a Tuesday news release from the CCA, which represents more than 6,000 producers and landowners.

The two organizations believe Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated the National Environmental Policy Act by not conducting a thorough environmental impact statement and that reintroduction should be delayed until that process is complete.

Both organizations have opposed wolf introduction since voters narrowly passed the ballot initiative to begin reintroducing wolves by the end of 2023. Colorado Parks and Wildlife is in the process of capturing wolves in northeast Oregon to serve as initial release animals.

The complaint is the first legal action taken since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 10(j) rule under the Endangered Species Act went into effect in Colorado on Dec. 8. The rule designates gray wolves in Colorado as experimental and provides state officials and livestock producers more management flexibility of wolves, including the killing wolves in situations where wolves are caught in the act of killing livestock or where chronic depredation is occurring.

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Controversial release plan has divided communities

The plan to release the wolves has divided urban and rural communities.

Many ranchers and farmers noted the risks wolves could pose to humans and livestock. The state's wolf reintroduction plan was largely supported by urban residents and supporters of the plan say wolves are a natural part of the ecosystem in the West.

State officials said they hope that the gradual release of the wolves captured from Oregon would eventually create self-sustaining packs of 150 to 200 animals. In the 1940s, the wolf population in Colorado was nearly eradicated and now the state is only home to a small number of wild wolves.

Will this legal action delay the release of wolves in Colorado?

The key element to Monday's complaint is whether the ruling judge will allow for the continuation of wolf reintroduction into Colorado while the complaint is being ruled on. The legal process to determine a ruling regarding the complaint can take several years.

Andy Spann, a fifth-generation rancher from Gunnison and president of the Gunnison County Stockgrowers Association, said in the release that the organizations' concerns during the nearly three-year process to create a state wolf recovery plan were not adequately addressed.

"Impacts of wolf reintroduction, as would any other action of this magnitude, need to be properly reviewed to avoid unintended negative consequences to the natural environment, wildlife, and people of the impacted communities," he said.

Michael Saul, Rockies and Plains Program Director at Defenders of Wildlife, said in a news release the organization will work to see wolf reintroduction efforts continue. Defenders was one of several wildlife advocacy organizations to speak out against the lawsuit.

"Defenders is sorely disappointed by this transparent, 11th-hour attempt to delay efforts to bring wolves and their ecological benefits back to Colorado," he said. "Coloradans voted, the state worked extensively with ranchers and conservationists alike to prepare, and the lawful path forward is clear. Defenders stands poised to respond to ensure this last-minute maneuver will not thwart the historic return of the wolf."

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Colorado was under pressure to get environmental impact statement completed

Colorado paid the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service $1 million to complete the environmental impact statement. The state faced time constraints to get the statement completed in time for the 10(j) rule to go into effect before wolves were reintroduced.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife Director Jeff Davis previously praised the expedience in which the statement process was concluded, about half the time it normally takes.

"This demonstrates a sincere and effective commitment by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to accomplish this task on a very accelerated timeline," Davis said in a previous release. "National Environmental Policy Act work typically takes two to three years and it was accomplished in a little over a year-and-a-half."

Contributing: Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY