Wolves Have Been Released in Colorado USA

[Woodcarver]

Actually, Colorado taxpayers pay NOTHING for the reintroduction of the wolves here OR the depredation payments to ranchers. It ALL come from the DOW budget which is funded by the hunters and fishermen in the state, most of which didn't support the wolf reintroduction in the first place. Perfect!

Mostly accurate. When they combined the Parks Dept with the DOW, it increased the level of the budget paid by taxes as opposed to license fees. Old numbers showed ~85% of the DOW budget came directly from license fees, ~15% from the general fund of taxes. Those numbers have shifted since the merger, which was opposed by the DOW btw. The intent of the merger was specifically to reduce the sway the DOW has in managing CO's wildlife and give the non-consumptive users too much say. I have not been able to find the breakdown in numbers since they merged.
But you are absolutely spot on that the reintroduction and all the coming damage payments were not supported by the vast majority of hunters and fishermen.

 

[CJW]

Actually, the last known California Grizzly was killed raiding a beehive in Modjeska Canyon, Orange County (Southern Ca.) in 1940. I had a photo of the old newspaper article somewhere. The bear looked about the size of a large black bear.

Ahh, give or take 20 years.

 

[CJW]

“Registering” as my Southern African brethren would call that occurs with lots of critters. Cats really do it well.
Funny, how wild stuff knows it makes less noise to step in the same
Place twice.
I trust you saw nails. No ways it’s a cat if the nails were out.

I don't think it's about being quiet but more about being lazy, aka path of least resistance and maybe a little neurotic. An old trappers trick is to find a fresh bobcat track, stake a foothold off to the side and slide the trap under one of the individual tracks in the snow hoping the cat will come back using the same tracks.

I house sat for some friends every summer for a number of years. Their cat had his own depressions in the deep pile carpet in their bedroom. If he was coming from the kitchen into their bedroom, then into their bathroom, he would turn the corner and use those depressions along that wall. I would vacuum once or twice while they were gone and erase them. Never knew if that threw him off.

 

[Mac13]

Could I get a permit to introduce leopards? How about Washington DC?

+1

 

[lockingblock]

They should be released in Denver and tell the greenies how wolves are entitled to eat their kids as that’s what they did in the past…it’s nature.

 

[CoElkHunter]

They should be released in Denver and tell the greenies how wolves are entitled to eat their kids as that’s what they did in the past…it’s nature.

I'll transport them. LOL

 

[Hunter4752001]

No problem re permit to reintroduce leopards to DC. Just word your application in terms of melanistic leopards / leopards of colour and they will probably also give you a multi-million dollar grant for the project.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Actually, Colorado taxpayers pay NOTHING for the reintroduction of the wolves here OR the depredation payments to ranchers. It ALL come from the DOW budget which is funded by the hunters and fishermen in the state, most of which didn't support the wolf reintroduction in the first place. Perfect!

Ouch

 

[Travis Johnson]

Where I live we have a fair number of wolves , they get managed by trappers, hunters and fluctuating animal populations. The wolf populations follow the highs and lows of the animal populations. I like that they are around. They have ruined a few hunts for me , as when they start howling , the moose and elk hole up and quit calling. Would I like them gone not a chance, and I do try to shoot a few in the winter when their hides are prime. To me they are a sign I’m out in true wilderness. As far as Colorado goes I agree with what’s been said about being able to manage them effectively. The animals will get a beating first few years for sure.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Ouch

Wait, there's more! LOL If you're one of the many wealthy yuppies that have built your expensive cabin, home, etc., in what used to be prime wintering habitat for elk and mule deer here, AND a black bear breaks into your abode while you're vacationing in the Bahamas, guess who gets to pay for the damages caused by the bear? You guessed it (or maybe not), the Colorado Division of Wildlife's budget! The DOW also builds lovely brick sh** houses for private shooting ranges that are open to the public. The Pikes Peak Gun Club- Issak Walton Range east of here is an example. They even have a plaque on it stating as much. The DOW is also solely responsible for building and maintaining dams on lakes that are open to EVERYBODY as Division of Wildlife properties. At least as of the past ten years or so, the everybodies (hikers, picknickers, bicyclists, etc) are supposed to have a $10 Habitat Stamp to use the properties. I'm not against any of this, but when are the General taxpayers in Colorado who support/want/use ALL of these things going to be required to put some "skin in the game", so to speak, and help with the funding through their tax dollars? Hunters and fishermen/women having been paying for all of this for decades here.

 

[Woodcarver]

Where I live we have a fair number of wolves , they get managed by trappers, hunters and fluctuating animal populations. The wolf populations follow the highs and lows of the animal populations. I like that they are around. They have ruined a few hunts for me , as when they start howling , the moose and elk hole up and quit calling. Would I like them gone not a chance, and I do try to shoot a few in the winter when their hides are prime. To me they are a sign I’m out in true wilderness. As far as Colorado goes I agree with what’s been said about being able to manage them effectively. The animals will get a beating first few years for sure.

If the states would actually allow proper management of wolves, it might not be so bad. The problem is, the states are not, or are being prevented, from actually managing their wolf populations in a manner that prevents the decimation of big game. DOW dollars are being wasted in the constant court battles brought by the wolf/tree/bunny huggers that have no clue what real conservation is. Those groups tend to be zealots with tunnel vision and no desire to allow facts to interfere with their "vision".
When has managing wildlife ever been enhanced by a ballot initiative? When the ignorance of the general population can be exploited by emotion and lies, the wildlife always loses, every time.

 

[Woodcarver]

Wait, there's more! LOL If you're one of the many wealthy yuppies that have built your expensive cabin, home, etc., in what used to be prime wintering habitat for elk and mule deer here, AND a black bear breaks into your abode while you're vacationing in the Bahamas, guess who gets to pay for the damages caused by the bear? You guessed it (or maybe not), the Colorado Division of Wildlife's budget! The DOW also builds lovely brick sh** houses for private shooting ranges that are open to the public. The Pikes Peak Gun Club- Issak Walton Range east of here is an example. They even have a plaque on it stating as much. The DOW is also solely responsible for building and maintaining dams on lakes that are open to EVERYBODY as Division of Wildlife properties. At least as of the past ten years or so, the everybodies (hikers, picknickers, bicyclists, etc) are supposed to have a $10 Habitat Stamp to use the properties. I'm not against any of this, but when are the General taxpayers in Colorado who support/want/use ALL of these things going to be required to put some "skin in the game", so to speak, and help with the funding through their tax dollars? Hunters and fishermen/women having been paying for all of this for decades here.

Yeah, there's a lot of stuff that our license fees have been wasted on over the years. I was actually surprised when they started trying to make anyone afield buy a habitat stamp if they didn't have a hunting license; I still wonder if it's being enforced at all.
The damage claims have been a sore spot for decades. They did put a reg in place that requires a landowner to allow hunting in order to submit a claim, but it has way too many loopholes to actually work.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Yeah, there's a lot of stuff that our license fees have been wasted on over the years. I was actually surprised when they started trying to make anyone afield buy a habitat stamp if they didn't have a hunting license; I still wonder if it's being enforced at all.
The damage claims have been a sore spot for decades. They did put a reg in place that requires a landowner to allow hunting in order to submit a claim, but it has way too many loopholes to actually work.

Yeah, I don't know who would be enforcing the habitat stamp requirement for non hunters/fishermen anyway? Maybe at a larger DOW property? I didn't know about your last sentence. Maybe that's what has helped expand the Ranching for Wildlife Big Game hunting program? Maybe not?

 

[Woodcarver]

Yeah, I don't know who would be enforcing the habitat stamp requirement for non hunters/fishermen anyway? Maybe at a larger DOW property? I didn't know about your last sentence. Maybe that's what has helped expand the Ranching for Wildlife Big Game hunting program? Maybe not?

The Ranching for Wildlife was a negotiated agreement, not a ballot initiative. The landowners wanted DOW funds and tags that could be sold via an outfitter to help manage the wildlife on their property. The DOW wanted to expand public access to those (typically) prime hunting lands. While it usually takes a fair number of preference points, there are now a number of people who draw tags for those properties every year and do not have to pay a trespass fee or an outfitter to hunt. Those that require a guide, do so at the properties expense, not the hunter's.
Another example of a ballot initiative that did not help wildlife, is the one passed a number of years ago banning bear hunting over bait and spring hunts. More orphaned cubs was one of the realities. More bears getting bolder and causing problems (you and I see news stories all the time about bears in Rockrimmon and the Broadmoor areas).

 

[Scott CWO]

So based on the logic here, lions, leopards, and cheetahs should also never be reintroduced to their historical ranges? Predators are part of a healthy eco-system whether it’s convenient for us or not.

Do you really think that we will be allowed to ever hunt these Colorado wolves once their numbers get high enough? We won’t and that’s the problem. I like hunting wolves where they are properly managed. You can’t hunt some animals and not others. Don’t be so naive. If the pro-wolf lovers would accept hunting at some point, a lot of people wouldn’t be so against wolves.

 

[1dirthawker]

what a stupid idea!! dreamed up by people that likely never spent a night outside.

well, just like voting for presidents and mayors; you get what you ask for. kinda like biden, might not like it and somebody else is gonna have to fix it. hmmm.

 

[CoElkHunter]

The Ranching for Wildlife was a negotiated agreement, not a ballot initiative. The landowners wanted DOW funds and tags that could be sold via an outfitter to help manage the wildlife on their property. The DOW wanted to expand public access to those (typically) prime hunting lands. While it usually takes a fair number of preference points, there are now a number of people who draw tags for those properties every year and do not have to pay a trespass fee or an outfitter to hunt. Those that require a guide, do so at the properties expense, not the hunter's.
Another example of a ballot initiative that did not help wildlife, is the one passed a number of years ago banning bear hunting over bait and spring hunts. More orphaned cubs was one of the realities. More bears getting bolder and causing problems (you and I see news stories all the time about bears in Rockrimmon and the Broadmoor areas).

That ballot initiative also banned the use of dogs to hunt bears. Another reality is that there are too many bears in certain parts of the state because of that initiative, especially South near Trinidad. I talked to a DOW officer in the mid '90s in that area and he said they had 30 bears killed by vehicles trying to cross the Interstate that particular year. Fall bear hunting without dogs doesn't reduce their numbers enough. A healthy, balanced wild environment requires hunters to take a certain number of predators along with game animals to maintain that healthy balance. Same with ANY other country's wildlife management practices IMO.

 

[Foxi]

View attachment 575541


I'm not seeing any claw marks in those tracks. I'd wonder if they were kitty tracks?

I would guess a cat

"One of the primary causes of the problem is the concentration of voters in the major urban/suburban areas"

That is the main problem, that the urban population politically determines the rural area.
It's no different here.
The green romantics on the fourth floor of their tower block dream about how nice it is to have wolves in the forests again.
(lucky that I am already so old )
Foxi

 

[HUNTROMANIA]

Some peoples don’t understand the ecosystem, game management etc. România has the biggest bear population in Europe and I’m pretty sure wolves as well. Back in ‘70-‘80 the hunters got recompensed for any predator they killed . ( wolf, foxes, etc) Nothing happen with wolves population. We continued to have a strong population. In 2016 they closed the wolves hunting and today is a disaster. Hunters and game keepers are avoiding to talk about that but the number of pray species is decreasing dramatically. Animals don’t have peace anymore, sheep farms are under attack, is no more equilibrium in the forest.
Here are some tracks of 10 wolves from my area. Nothing left after them…

 

[HUNTROMANIA]