Gray Wolf Initiative To Appear On Colorado's 2020 Ballot

Voters in Colorado will decide the fate of a ballot initiative that would reintroduce gray wolves into the state by the end of 2023. If the measure passes, wolves would be placed back into their historic homeland in western Colorado.

The Colorado Secretary of State's Office received 215,370 signatures in favor of the measure appearing on the ballot. The total, which was collected from a random sample of the population, is more than the required count for the proposal to be listed on the ballot, officials said.

Under the proposal, Initiative 107, a fund would also be set up to compensate ranchers for any livestock losses.

Organizations such as the Colorado Cattlemen's Association and the Colorado Farm Bureau are against the initiative appearing on the 2020 general election ballot. The groups say the reintroduction should be left to wildlife and biodiversity experts.

Those who support the reintroduction of gray wolves say it would help restore the state's ecological balance.

Colorado was once home to many gray wolves, but they were killed off by around 1940, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

Gray wolves currently roam free in Wyoming, Montana, California, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin. Around 6,000 gray wolves live in the Pacific Northwest, the northern Rockies and the western Great Lakes.

In July 2019, a gray wolf was spotted in Jackson County, Colorado. The sighting sparked excitement across the state; however, it was later confirmed that the wolf was from Wyoming's Snake River Pack.