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Rural Coloradans and Republican legislators have again criticized the state’s alleged indifference to the needs of farmers and ranchers as the Parks and Wildlife Department moves to secure 15 more wolves for introduction into the state. CPW has announced the gray wolves will come from British Columbia, the first time the predators have been stocked from outside the U.S.
House Assistant Minority Leader Ty Winter, a Las Animas County rancher, and Rep. Matt Soper released a statement Monday critical of the new development, saying the reintroduction program has already created significant challenges for farmers, ranchers, and local economies. “As wolves continue to be brought into Colorado, it’s our rural families who bear the brunt of this decision,” Winter said.
“Ranchers have lost livestock, and livelihoods are being threatened with little recourse. While I understand the importance of conservation, we cannot prioritize wolves over the hard-working farmers and ranchers who feed this state.” Soper, who is from Delta, and Winter both represent sparsely populated areas of Colorado, emphasized that the 2020 wolf reintroduction mandate, passed largely by urban voters, has exposed the growing divide between urban and rural Colorado.
Soper urged the state to take more meaningful steps to bridge the urban-rural divide and ensure that rural voices are heard in these decisions. “This isn’t just about wolves, it’s about the disconnect between policy made in Denver and the realities on the ground in rural Colorado,” Soper said. “If we want to talk about environmental stewardship, we need to start by working with the people who know this land best—our farmers, ranchers, and rural communities.
They are being asked to shoulder the burden of a policy they did not vote for and cannot afford.” Closer to home, Rep. Richard Holtorf, a Washington county rancher who represents the 63rd House District of northeast Colorado, was less sanguine, putting part of the blame on Gov.
Jared Polis. “This wolf population program will cause further killing of domestic livestock in Colorado, pitting Colorado ranchers against the governor and CPW,” Holtorf said. “The attacks on livestock (are) something the governor cares nothing about.
He will push the cattlemen aside for his ‘More Wolves in Colorado’ agenda.” Yuma County rancher Kenny Rogers, who is past president of the Colorado Livestock Association and former president of Colorado Cattlemen’s Association, said the impact of the wolf program isn’t isolated to one corner of the state. “Nowadays, with market alliances, (stockmen) are more tied together and that’s just from an economic stand point, Rogers said “Industry groups have also pulled larger regions together which previously weren’t aligned, (such as) east slope vs.
west slope. This due to the realization we need to present a united front against issues affecting not only our livelihoods, but our way of life as well. We are family, and any issue affecting one of us affects us all.
” Winter again raised the point that merely compensating a rancher for a dead calf or lamb hardly covers the real cost of wolf depredation. “Every time a wolf takes livestock, it’s not just an animal lost—it’s a paycheck, a family’s future, a community’s way of life,” he said. “There must be more local input, and the state needs to fully compensate farmers and ranchers for their losses.
Only then can we begin to bridge the urban-rural divide that this issue has brought to light.”.
