The early release of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 10(j) rule will ensure local ranchers have the ability to kill wolves that attack or prey on their animals after the species is reintroduced to Colorado at the end of the year.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is responsible for reintroducing wolves in portions of the species’ historic range in Colorado by Dec. 31, 2023, following a statewide voter-led initiative passed in 2020. An experimental designation, or “10(j)” rule, will allow the wolves to be treated as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, rather than as endangered. This will give CPW increased management flexibility and permit the “lethal take” or killing of wolves in specific scenarios, such a chronic depredation.
On Sept. 15, the Fish and Wildlife Service announced the availability of the final environmental impact statement (EIS) and draft record of decision to establish an experimental population of gray wolves in Colorado. Following the announcement, the rule is expected to be in place more than a month before the statutory deadline.
“This demonstrates a sincere and effective commitment by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to accomplish this task on a very accelerated timeline,” CPW Director Jeff Davis said in a press release. “National Environmental Policy Act work typically takes 2-3 years and it was accomplished in a little over a year-and-a-half.”
Earlier this year, Gov. Jared Polis vetoed a bill that would have delayed wolf reintroduction until the Service approved the rule. But Gunnison Valley ranchers have argued that the 10(j) rule will allow them to protect their livestock once wolves are on the ground, Greg Peterson said on behalf of the Gunnison Stockgrowers’ Association.
“This is key to having a successful wolf introduction into the Gunnison Basin,” he said.
Timeline and next steps
The rule is expected to go into effect sometime in November, well before wolf capture and release operations begin. No public comment period is open at this time. The Service collected feedback from residents across the Western Slope last year.
CPW does not anticipate the early release of wolves, even though the 10(j) rule is ahead of schedule. The agency plans to wait until conditions are ideal to begin, but the first releases are still anticipated to occur prior to the Dec. 31 deadline.
(Bella Biondini can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or bella@gunnisontimes.com.)
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