Colorado Reintroduces Wolverines: Time to Start Buying Wolverine Preference Point in Colorado?

Colorado Reintroduces Wolverines: Time to Start Buying Wolverine Preference Point in Colorado?

By Dave Shaffer

As I blogged previously, Colorado has been considering re-introducing wolverines in Colorado.

Well, Governor Jared “I never met a whacky idea I didn’t like” Polis just signed SB24-171, which gives Colorado Parks & Wildlife’s (CPW) the authority to reintroduce the North American wolverine to Colorado. 

Key components of the new law:
As long as the North American wolverine remains on the list of threatened or endangered species pursuant to the Endangered Species Act, CPW will not reintroduce the species in the state until the effective date of a final rule designating the wolverine in Colorado as a nonessential experimental population (known as a 10(j) rule) before reintroduction begins. This is now possible because the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the species as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in November 2023. 

CPW will work cooperatively with federal land management agencies with jurisdiction over federal public lands where North American wolverines may be released in Colorado, 

(I’m thinkin’ downtown Denver, Boulder).

CPW may not use funds generated from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses or from associated federal grants to implement the reintroduction. The bill authorizes the CPW Director to use $750,000 from the Species Conservation Trust Fund for the reintroduction effort. The funds would become available in the state fiscal year 2024-25.

CPW biologists estimate that the state may have enough suitable terrain to support approximately 100 – 180 animals at full carrying capacity.

If you’re interested, you can read CPW’s official propaganda here;

https://cpw.state.co.us/aboutus/Pages/News-Release-Details.aspx?NewsID=4125

 
While signing this bill, Polis said; “I am thrilled to welcome Wolverines back to Colorado! … Today, we begin to add Wolverines to the list of animals reintroduced to Colorado, ensuring Colorado remains the best state in the nation for ecodiversity and outdoor enthusiasts.”  

Great … “outdoor enthusiasts” … he must mean hunters, right? 

Since Colorado’s previous severe winter reduced our elk, pronghorn, and deer populations he must be giving us something else to hunt. Awesome!!  Once wolverines are reintroduced, I don’t imagine there will be very many tags, so I recommend you start building wolverine preference points right away. 

I know I will.