SUSPECTED GRAY WOLF SPOTTED IN JACKSON COUNTY AND GRAND COUNTY COLORADO
UPDATED 7/10/2019 12:51pm MST
Colorado Parks and Wildlife has confirmed that the sighting was a gray wolf from Wyoming.
In a post on Facebook they said, “The Jackson County sighting was confirmed by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to be a dispersing male gray wolf from WY. It is from the Snake River pack, and was last recorded by transmission signals on Feb. 12 during routine telemetry flights around South Pass.
We will monitor the area, but are no longer actively pursuing the wolf’s location. We will remain in close communication with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA Wildlife Services, Wyoming Game and Fish Department and local municipalities.
Under the Endangered Species Act, harming, harassing, or killing a gray wolf other than in cases of self-defense is unlawful.”
Colorado Governor Jared Polis shared last night that there have been two wolf sitings in Colorado in recent months. While alleged wolf sitings are nothing unusual on the northern border, it is unusual for someone to have photographic proof.
Colorado Park and Wildlife confirmed the sighting but stated they released the wrong photos. The wolf was seen over the weekend in Jackson County. CPW has contacted the USFWS and is investigating the situation. There was a separate wolf sighting in Grand County that is also being investigated.
We will update this story as we get more information. Wolf sightings can be reported on CPW’s website.
WOLVES IN COLORADO
This sighting comes on the heels of an announcement that the Rocky Mountain Wolf Project wants to get wolf reintroduction put on the Colorado ballot. They need 124,632 signatures by December 13th to make that happen. Rocky Mountain Wolf Action Fund is going so far as to pay people to collect signatures in grocery store parking lots. If they meet their goal, Colorado would be the first state where citizens choose to have wolves instead of wildlife managers.
You may have seen our wolf sighting tweet earlier this evening.
We accidentally shared the wrong wolf sighting photo. Here are the correct ones from over the weekend. (note the tracking collar)
As we continue to get more information we will share it. pic.twitter.com/lm0HXWwK3V
— CO Parks & Wildlife (@COParksWildlife) July 9, 2019
In addition to that battle, the federal government is still deciding about the wolf’s spot on the Endangered Species List. The USFWS is still accepting comments about delisting the gray wolf through July 15th. If they chose to delist the wolf, then wolf management will be turned back over to the states and tribes to manage.
What do you think about the most recent wolf sighting in Colorado?
