Recently, the effort regarding the reintroduction of wolves in Colorado has generated national attention and has started a conversation between Montana producers recalling our state’s own reintroduction over two decades ago and the significant impacts that came with it. This month, leaders from Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA) discussed this issue and the challenges Colorado livestock producers will face as wolves continue to be reintroduced to their state.
MSGA’s Board of directors decided to be proactive on this issue and state the Association’s opposition to using Montana wolves in the reintroduction in Colorado.
In a letter sent to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP), MSGA shared concerns for Colorado livestock producers who have no available tools in place to allow for the protections and programs for their livestock that Montana producers currently have.
“Giving Colorado wolves from Montana isn’t going to solve the wolf issues in our state, but it will significantly impact livestock producers in Colorado,” said Jim Steinbeisser, MSGA President. “MSGA represents ranching families throughout the state, and we have experienced first-hand the impacts this apex predator has on our family ranches.”
From the initial reintroduction into the state, Montana has continued to put in place, through policy and legislation, management tools for the livestock industry to help protect livestock. While producers still face significant predation from wolf activity, there are measures in place to lessen those losses.
It is critically important livestock producers do not shoulder the burden and costs of these types of reintroduction efforts, especially with no management tools in place to protect their property, livelihoods, and resources ranchers so carefully manage.
For these reasons, the MSGA Board of Directors is in strong opposition to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks considering any request from the state of Colorado to provide Montana wolves for reintroduction into Colorado.
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MSGA
Love it! Maybe that’s our way of stopping this disaster, by getting Montana to do this and other states to follow!
The people that want them don’t have to have them in their backyard. As long as they can go out a couple times a year and hear them howl or accidently see one they don’t have a problem. If the people who wants them was sent a bill for the time, damages, and wasted money on managing them they would not want them either. I have no figures but I would bet the tax payers that fund 99 percent of the wolf projects is out at least 100k per wolf. Nobody wants them that has to deal with them. Not to mention what they do to the wild life in those areas.
Born and raised in Colorado over the last 40 years sooo much has changed here in Colorado. Honestly, most of it is for the worst, as far as my sportsman and conservation minded opinion. Wolves are going to decimate the incredibly successful moose reintroduction, then deer, then elk. Giving people a voice who have absolutely no awareness to the actual situation was a very costly decision. Time will provide the inevitable proof of their impact on wildlife, livestock and those who make a living dependent on both. Soft people make hard times… in this case the wrong people given power over something they have no business in…. management of wildlife.
Well said Rob!
Thank you! God Bless Montana. Let’s not reintroduce them, they are here.
When will the wolf lovers admit that a Canadian Timberwolf and a North American Gray wolf are about the same as West Slope Cutthroat trout and a Scottish Loch Leven ( or as you might know them a ‘brown’ trout ) .. they are as out of place as the Montana Walleye unlimited chapter!!!…kill ‘em all if you honestly want space for the interior North American Grizzly and the once extremely pervasive North American Bison.. Did you know once Big Horn sheep out numbered deer in Montana…are you aware Gallatin county didn’t have white tails in the 1960 s and the Bridger Mountain Range was devoid of elk only 40 years ago? … no but you moved here and bought a one ton pickup, elk tag and fly rod before you cut your long hair hid your Prius and passed on those snow tires to get the season pass at Big Sky …..
Canadian Timberwolf.!?!? Not a Gray wolf anymore than a brown trout is a cutthroat trout
They do not belong to this ecosystem they’re non native.. they’re Canadian and they re bigger than the once native gray wolf .. let’s be honest people Bighorn Sheep outnumbered deer in the times of Lewis and Clark now we are to believe that only elk and wolves belong on the landscape surrounding the greater Yellowstone ecosystem.. it’s missing a lot of bison before we put wolves back it’s missing a lot of sheep before we put predators back it’s creeks and rivers are missing cutthroat s it’s full of custom homes that also pressure wildlife .. animals that live wild lives need more space than what we have left until you understand that Montana is my home state many peoples home state not just a vacation
Huh just don’t want to here it or what man it’s the truth though the wolves loose in Montana are not gray wolves they’re Canadian Timberwolves
Who pays for the cost?
What are the benefits?
STOP spreading misinformation and lies. Cattle losses from wolves are less than .01%, and elk populations are almost double since wolf reintroduction. Moose and deer populations are stable. Wolves enrich the habitat they are in, and livestock depredations occur where wolves natural prey arr driven out by livestock. Yes wasted money on mismanagement, as wolves regulate themselves. Why are you livestock producers crying “wolf”? When a loss from a wolf/wolves, you are are thrple compensated, you save feed costs, transportation costs, you take the losses off on your state taxes, federal taxes, feedlot costs, etc. You say you love your livestock… Lies. You don’t raise something you love to be eaten. You love your livestock all thr way to the slaughterhouse and bank. Meat and beef eating is down in the USA, and export is up, China, Japan, other far east countries. Our wildlife, wolves, wildlandsare dying for foreign countries!!!
So, what does it matter if wolves eat a cow or sheep or two? They are raised by you to be eaten, and you are well compensated. It has been proven that range riders and livestock guard dogs prevent livestock and wolves from being killed. You use public land, and we, the public, want wolves, so share OUR public land with them. COEXISTANCE IS THE WAY!
YOU ARE SSOOOOO STUPID!!! Do you know ANYTHING about managing specific cattle bloodlines for generations to improve quality, stamina, and perfection and then go out one morning and see that the wolves have just KILLED a new born calf that was from a blood line you have carefully bred for season upon season. NO amount of money can give a rancher back those years of carefully perfecting a blood line!!!!…..Your ignorant post sounds like a myopic recording of all the UNINFORMED, UNREALSTIC being perpetrated by a bunch of city roots “”children”” who gather their perspectives from Disney Movies!! I have an idea…lets dump a truck load of wolves into your yard with you dogs and children…and watch nature take its course!!!
Welfare free-loading ranchers grazing cattle on public lands for pennies on the dollar. Not MY tax dollars!
We don’t need anymore damn wolves in colorado!!!
Most of these comments are valid (not sure what Jessee L. is talking about). I’m a very experienced biologist with 30 years working throughout the western states and Alaska. I’ve presented more than 20 papers at professional society meetings (mostly national and international in scope). I’m also the Science Editor for RANGE MAGAZINE (a national magazine available at virtually every news stand).
I now limit my practice to consulting on cattle ranches throughout the west. I have clients in NE Washington that have been all but wiped out by the wolf reintroduction in that state. Far left wing bureaucrats conspired with “environmental groups” from big cities and passed laws that made wolves essentially untouchable.
While wholly uninformed urbanites got together and had “howl in’s” to show their solidarity with the wolf, 6th generation ranchers we’re literally being wiped out by wolves. Washington passed laws declaring the wolves “endangered” and and set threshold values for “recovery” that they believed unattainable – thus the wolf would be wholly protected essentially forever. When populations started doubling and protection thresholds were exceed (and ranches went out of business) the State Fish and Wildlife had no choice but to schedule public meetings discussing how they’d de-list the wolves. The city loving “environmentalists” went crazy and threatened to kill state biologist and fire-bomb meeting halls (many of which were on school campus).
I could go on and on – but I urge all of you to see my series of 3 features articles on wolves in RANGE MAGAZINE beginning in Spring 2017 (Death of a Thousand Cuts) and ending in 2020. Colorado and all surrounding states need to take an immediate and strong stand against planting wolves. They’re already in Colorado and all this will do is precipitate a population boom while wiping out family ranches and costing the State a fortune in a battle that will have no end. Search my name + RANGE MAGAZINE for more information.
Dagmar Riddle you have lost you sense of balance partner. Wolves are the crème de la crème of predators and your public lands are missing a lot of key players for them to exist. Free range bison do not exist outside Yellowstone. I’m from Montana… actually born here and we need sheep restored before wolves we need cutthroat restored before wolves we need MOOSE restored before wolves … urban people wanting affordable housing in Bozeman MT is like wanting wolves running loose you haven’t laid down the appropriate groundwork to make that viable. Hunting District 311 has more wolves killed for livestock predation than all other legal methods trapping or hunting. Think about that look on a map there isn’t much public land in 311 . Where is the balance .. you can’t have an apex predator while missing so many of its available food sources . Open your mind man. Te antelope are all but completely private in the surrounding greater Yellowstone and what about the poor goats no room for mountain goats if there’s a ski hill ..? You need balance or the system is out…. Right now the system is out. Grizzly should be our focus for predators let’s face it we ve made coyotes the only k9 predator we are willing to live with . Wolves starve in the summer they’ve literally taken to living off ground squirrels… that’s not what they should eat . The influx of out of stater s has elk and deer devoid where the wolf wants to be thats the real reason so many Yellowstone wolves were killed this season . Because they are unable to survive all year long in Yellowstone.
There are avenues of redress available though they aren’t easy to follow through. This book, “Unknown Predator,” takes readers through the administrative process to reach the goal of getting the feds out of the business of obstructing land use via EPA, USFW, ESA, etc. We did the research for the benefit of ranchers, farmers and other land owners. https://tinyurl.com/Unknown-Predator