Return of the wolverine? Colorado governor signs bill allowing for reintroduction

Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill to allow for the reintroduction of wolverines in Colorado, but there remain hurdles before the solitary predator will once again roam the state's mountains, something it largely hasn't done in more than 100 years.

The governor signed Senate Bill 24-171 on Monday in the mountains at Loveland Pass. The bill gives Colorado Parks and Wildlife the authority to reintroduce wolverines, which number fewer than 400 in the contiguous U.S.

"I am thrilled to welcome wolverines back to Colorado,'' Polis said in a news release. "A diverse and healthy environment strengthens Colorado’s booming eco-tourism and outdoor recreation sectors. 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.''

A key component of the current bill is that reintroduction of wolverines will not take place as long as the wolverine remains on the list of threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act.

It further states Colorado Parks and Wildlife will not reintroduce the species in the state until the effective date of a final federal 10(j) rule designating the wolverine in Colorado as a nonessential experimental population.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed wolverines as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in November 2023.

More: Why wolverines First, it was lynxes, then wolves. Now some want to reintroduce wolverines in Colorado.

Wolverines similar in name to wolves but not in eating habits

Among the sponsors of the bipartisan bill were Sens. Perry Will, a Republican, and Democrat Dylan Roberts, both of whom have wrangled with Polis over reintroduced wolves killing livestock in the western Colorado counties they represent.

But wolverines are expected to prove far less a threat to the ranching community on the Western Slope than wolves.

Encounters between wolverines and livestock are extremely rare, as wolverines prefer the high mountains. Also, wolverines mainly eat scavenged carrion and to a lesser extent small rodents, rabbits, porcupines, ground squirrels, and marmots, with an occasional deer or elk.

Colorado's nine remaining released wolves (one died) have largely been involved in nine confirmed cattle kills since April 2, in Grand and Jackson counties. The wolves were released in late December in Grand and Summit counties.

Like wolves, livestock owners will be compensated if wolverines injure or kill livestock under the newly signed Senate bill.

As part of the passed bill, Colorado Parks and Wildlife can't use funds generated from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses or from associated federal grants to implement the reintroduction. The bill authorizes Colorado Parks and Wildlife 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.

Here's why Colorado makes sense for wolverine reintroduction and how many the state hopes to release

Wolverines number in the thousands in Canada and Alaska and have reestablished populations in Washington, Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, but they have not returned to stay in Colorado.

The last confirmed wolverine sighting in Colorado was in 2009, when Fort Collins wildlife photographer Ray Rafiti captured a photo of one in Rocky Mountain National Park.The most significant stressor on wolverines in the coming years will be climate change, according to an analysis by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.Colorado’s high mountains are predicted to retain their snowpack longer despite climate change than lower-elevation mountains in the Northern Rockies and Cascades, and thus appear to be an ideal location to further the wolverines' range.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists estimate the state may have enough suitable terrain to support 100 to 180 wolverines at full carrying capacity.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado gets go-ahead to reintroduce carnivore in addition to wolves