BOTH SIDES ARE UNHAPPY WITH WOLF LEGISLATION

Before voters decide in November whether to let wolves be reintroduced in western Colorado, state lawmakers may take their own vote on the question.

Right now, however, neither supporters nor opponents of the ballot measure are happy with the new Senate proposal.

Sen. Kerry Donovan, D-Vail, is championing a bill to reintroduce gray wolves to the state, hoping it will spur more discussion and lead the different interest groups to find more common ground than a ballot measure is able to do.

Donovan introduced the legislation late Friday because she said the situation has changed since the wolf reintroduction ballot initiative was first proposed, with wildlife officials finding evidence of wolves living in northwest Colorado and in Moffat County.

The bill calls for reintroduction based on a plan from the parks and wildlife commission to begin by Dec. 31, 2025 — two years later than outlined in the ballot question. It could be delayed if the state has not yet identified a source of revenue to pay for damages caused by the wolves, and it could be canceled if the population in Colorado is self-sustaining by that time.

Supporters of Initiative 107 say they don’t support her bill as it stands, but Rocky Mountain Wolf Action Fund President Rob Edwards said advocates are willing to work with lawmakers to come up with a better solution, and that it’s encouraging to see them take an interest in the issue that is backed both by science and has public support.

“Whether (the bill) goes anywhere remains to be seen,” Edwards said.

He said the possibility of a delay and lack of definition of a “selfsustaining population” in the bill are problematic.

Donovan said one of her main concerns about the ballot initiative revolves around compensating commercial livestock owners for damages caused by gray wolves. While advocates believe

compensation is important, she said, it’s hard to create detailed policy around it on a yes-or-no ballot question.

“Right now, I don’t think the wool growers, cattlemen and some other (agriculture) groups have really been able voice their concerns about wolf introduction,” she said.

“They’ve just been able to voice opposition because that’s what an initiative does.”

Still, the group leading the opposition to wolf reintroduction is also skeptical of her bill.

Denny Behrens, co-chair for Stop the Wolf Coalition, said postponing the reintroduction for two years as well as talking about a sustainable population of wolves without identifying that threshold — the same two points ballot question backers are concerned about — make it seem like the bill is a way for lawmakers to get the wolves reintroduced even if the ballot measure fails.

He said his group has 30 Colorado counties who have opposed the reintroduction and he believes more will sign on.

“I think (Donovan) is just trying to grandstand a little bit,” Behrens said.

The introduction will be harmful to livestock and people, he said, and he also pointed to the evidence that wolves are already living in Colorado. Plus, state wildlife officials opposed reintroduction efforts in 2016.

Donovan said it’s unlikely that both her bill and the ballot initiative will pass if the groups can’t come to an agreement, but if they do the state will have to figure out the contradictions, such as the date of reintroduction.

“It’s a bill that by its introduction brings conflict,” she acknowledged, but she thinks it’s the right way to go.