DENVER — For a handful of counties on the Western Slope, the gray wolf is facing an uphill battle.
At least six rural communities have now approved a resolution opposing wolf reintroduction.
A measure is currently on the November ballot to reintroduce wolves in Colorado.
At the Defenders of Wildlife offices in downtown Denver, staffers recently returned from a trip to Moffat County, where a pack of wolves was recently spotted.
They say while the news is promising, the species still needs the protection of the ballot measure to help the population grow.
“While we’re really excited this pack of wolves has been found in Moffat County,” said Defenders of Wildlife representative John Murtaugh. “We’re going to need more than a single pack to have a meaningful restoration.”
However, a spokesperson with the Colorado Wool Growers Association says such a measure provides no guarantees to ranchers if livestock is killed by wolves.
“This proposed ballot measure, should it pass … has an estimated conservative cost of $6 million to implement it over the next few years, so why should taxpayers be burdened with that when wolves are in Colorado anyway?” said Bonnie Brown, the executive director of the CWGA.