CSU CENTER FOR HUMAN CARNIVORE COEXISTENCE INFORMATION SHEETS
Colorado State University's Center for Human Carnivore Coexistence published a series of Information Sheets and Frequently Asked Questions in the late summer of 2020. These are an excellent source of objective information about gray wolves.
Please note, clicking on the title will bring you to the external sourced website with additional information.
➤ Wolf Taxonomy and Biology
Taxonomy, the classification of living organisms, is complicated for wolves. Five subspecies of gray wolf (Canis lupus) are currently recognized in North America, including the Mexican wolf of the southwestern U.S. (Canis lupus baileyi). The red wolf (Canis rufus) of the southeastern U.S. is considered a distinct species. Gray wolves can live in a variety of habitat types, if there is enough prey and they are tolerated by humans. Gray wolves have been eliminated from much of their former range. Today, about 300,000 wolves occur globally, including 60,000 in Canada, 7,700-11,200 in Alaska, and about 6000 in the lower 48 U.S. states.
➤ Wolves in Colorado: History and Status
The gray wolf is native to Colorado but was eradicated from the state by the mid-1940s. Colorado still has suitable habitat for wolves, including a sufficient prey base and extensive public land. A few individual wolves have arrived in Colorado during the past two decades and a small group currently lives in the state, but it is unclear if and when Colorado would have a self-sustaining viable population of wolves. Reintroducing more wolves would reduce uncertainty and increase the likelihood of a viable population.
➤ Wolf Policy
The gray wolf is currently federally listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) in most of the lower 48 U.S. states. Ballot Proposition 114 was a citizen-initiated measure on the Colorado ballot on November 3, 2020. The proposition passed, and the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission is now required to develop a science-based plan to restore gray wolves and oversee wolf restoration and management, with reintroduction beginning by the end of 2023. All wild gray wolves in Colorado are still endangered under the ESA. Consequently, USFWS, and not Colorado Parks and Wildlife, has management authority over all wild wolves in the state.
➤ Wolves and Human Safety
Wolves are generally afraid of humans and will avoid people, buildings, and roads if possible. The risk of wolves attacking or killing people is low. As with other wildlife, it is best not to feed wolves and to keep them at a respectful distance. Wolves may kill pets if they encounter them, although such events are infrequent.
➤ Ecological Effects of Wolves
Wolves can generate trophic cascades – ecological effects that ripple through an ecosystem. In places like Yellowstone National Park, wolves have likely contributed to willow and aspen recovery and overall habitat diversity by reducing overbrowsing by elk.
Wolves are likely not solely responsible for the changes in the Yellowstone ecosystem. Additional factors such as drought, harsh winters, other predators, and human hunting may have also helped reduce the Yellowstone elk herd and transform the ecosystem.
Predicting the ecological effects of wolves is complicated, with no simple answers. When restored to Colorado, wolves may generate noticeable ecological effects where they occur in high enough densities for long enough time. In areas with lower densities of wolves, ecological effects will be less evident.
➤ Wolves, Big Game, and Hunting
Colorado’s prey base for wolves includes over 430,000 mule deer and 280,000 elk, the largest elk population of any state. The largest mule deer and elk herds occur in western Colorado.
Wolves in Colorado might locally impact some big game herds and hunting opportunities if they occur in high enough numbers for enough time. This is more likely if wolf predation acts with other factors that limit prey such as severe winters. At a statewide level, wolves are unlikely to have a major impact on overall big game populations or hunting opportunities in Colorado based on evidence from northern Rocky Mountain states.
➤ Wolves and Disease
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a contagious and fatal disease found in deer, elk, and moose in Colorado. Selective predation by wolves on sick and diseased animals may help limit CWD in big game, but no field study has tested this prediction.
Hydatid disease is caused by the Echinococcus tapeworm. Canines such as wolves, coyotes, foxes, and domestic dogs are the host, and ungulates such as deer, elk, moose, and domestic livestock are part of the disease cycle. In rare circumstances humans may be infected by accidentally ingesting eggs, but direct human infection from wolves is extremely unlikely.
Dogs and wolves are closely related and also can share many of the same parasites and diseases. Dogs are much more likely to infect wolves than vice-versa.
➤ Wolves and Livestock
Impacts to livestock from wolves can include mortality from wolf predation, and other impacts such as reduced weight gain. These costs are unevenly with some producers suffering greater losses than others. Although wolf depredation is a small economic cost to the livestock industry as a whole, the impacts to individual producers can be substantial.
On rare occasions wolves only eat a portion of what is killed. Such events can reinforce negative perceptions of wolves.
Wildlife managers and livestock producers have a variety of management tools to reduce conflict with wolves, including changing livestock management and directly managing wolves. Both non-lethal and lethal tools can be effective to either prevent conflict or reactively after conflict has occurred.
➤ Public Perspectives on Wolves and Wolf Reintroduction
Public attitudes towards wolves and wolf reintroduction are generally positive but can vary by demographics, geography, and stakeholder groups. Surveys conducted over the last few decades have found consistent majority support for wolf reintroduction among Colorado residents across the state.
Perceived positive impacts of wolves include the ability of wolves to restore balance to ecosystems and improve the environment, emotional and cultural connections to wolves, wolf viewing opportunities, and moral arguments for wolf restoration (e.g., “it’s the right thing to do”).
Perceived negative impacts include ranchers incurring costs from wolves preying on livestock, reduced deer and elk populations and hunting opportunities, and threats to the safety of people and pets.
➤ Wolf Economics
The negative economic impacts of wolves can include reduced weight gain and death losses in livestock, lost hunting and recreation opportunities, and costs for monitoring and management.
Benefits include consumptive use such as state and private returns from wolf hunting (if allowed), and non-consumptive uses such as tourism to view wolves. Economists also recognize and measure existence and bequest values, the value of knowing wolves exist and will be there for future generations.
The benefits of wolves would apply broadly to people in Colorado, but costs will fall disproportionately on relatively few, especially livestock producers and possibly those reliant on the big game hunting industry. Careful planning and discussion about how to mitigate losses from wolves, manage wolf populations, and compensate people for losses in Colorado will be aided by extensive experience in other states.
➤ Moral Arguments Related to Wolf Restoration and Management
Moral arguments for wolf reintroduction include: 1) wolves deserve to live where they once thrived, 2) humans should share the land with and respect wolves, and 3) wolves enhance the wilderness character of natural areas. A moral argument against wolf reintroduction is that it is imposing the will of the majority of Coloradans on rural Coloradans who have to live with the potential negative impacts of wolves. Different values associated with wildlife lead to different moral arguments for or against killing wolves as a management tool.
➤ Dialogue and Social Conflict related to Wolves
Human biases may lead to inaccurate and damaging assumptions about others’ perspectives. Using established techniques to overcome these biases can help us have better conversations.
Social conflict is driven by biases, different attitudes and misinformation. At a deeper level, social conflict is fueled by basic human values and needs.
Traditional ways of dealing with natural resource conflicts like public meetings and comment periods are insufficient for reducing social conflict. Rather, more participatory processes are needed that involve stakeholders in dialogue and shared decision-making. CPW addressed this need through the creation of two advisory groups that provided input on the creation of CPW's wolf management plan. The Southwest Colorado Wolf Cooperative is trying to address this need by, among other things, initiating and participating in dialogue with various stakeholders whenever possible.