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DENVER
— The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has reintroduced wolves in
Wyoming and Arizona. Colorado may be next. The
Rocky Mountain News reports
that federal officials are considering reintroducing wolves in the
Weminuche Wilderness Area of southwestern Colorado. Even
without federal help, wolves may return to the Rocky Mountain state
within the next decade. Wyoming
Game and Fish Department officials report a wolf sighting in southwest
Wyoming, about 40 miles north of Craig, Colo. It was believed to be a
wolf from one of the packs in Yellowstone National Park, though game
and fish department officials say it could have been a crossbred
wolf-dog that had been abandoned in the area. Animals
from the Mexican gray wolf reintroduction program in Arizona have
spread into western New Mexico. Federal officials say that program may
be expanded to Ted Turner's Vermejo Ranch in northern New Mexico just
south of the Colorado state line. Turner already has wolves in holding
cages and is working with U.S. Fish and Wildlife wolf program managers
on his Ladder Ranch near Truth or Consequences, N.M. Colorado
residents are finding that the reintroduction of wolves could take
place despite their objections. Federal
officials say the Endangered Species Act takes precedence over state
law. Wolves were reintroduced in Idaho and Wyoming over the objections
of state officials and local ranchers. While New Mexico officials were
unable to reject the wolf reintroduction area in the Land of
Enchantment, they were able to prevent the Fish and Wildlife Service
from releasing wolves in the state. The wolves were released in
Arizona and migrated into New Mexico. Once
there were wolves throughout Colorado, officials say, but in 1876, the
territorial government established a bounty on them. By the 1930s,
wolves were thought to be extinct in the state. The
State of Colorado officially opposes a wolf reintroduction program,
but the Colorado Division of Wildlife is working on a plan in reaction
to such a move. A
working group should be appointed in March and is expected to start
meeting in April. State
wildlife officials say they hope to have a draft management plan by
August. |
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