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Wolves little danger, group says
DENVER (AP)--Members of a new task force believe that wolves that wander into Colorado from neighboring states should be left alone unless they start killing livestock.
The Colorado Wolf Working Group reached the consensus in early November and will present its final recommendations to the state Division of Wildlife in December.
The group began meeting after a dead wolf traced to Yellowstone National Park was found in June along Interstate 70 about 30 miles west of Denver.
At first, several ranchers and hunters on the panel thought that wolves posed too much of a danger to livestock and big game to allow any in the state. Since then, state biologist Gary Skiba said that members of the panel have agreed that not every wolf has to be killed immediately.
"We think the best approach is to live and let live," said rancher and task force member Jean Stetson.
For now, the task force will only make recommendations on what to do about the first wave of wolves expected to migrate south from Yellowstone. Later, if packs of wolves establish themselves in the state, Stetson said ranchers will want to look at tighter controls.
In the 1990s, gray wolves from Canada were released in Yellowstone and central Idaho, and Mexican wolves were released in Arizona in federal efforts to restore them to parts of their native range.
Wolves have flourished in the Yellowstone area, growing to a population of about 750 in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. Recovery has been less successful in Arizona and New Mexico.
Date: 11/23/04
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