Gov. Polis vetoes bill requiring fed approval for wolf reintroduction

The final plan for wolf reintroduction on the Western Slope approved earlier this month by Colorado Parks and Wildlife commissioners called the federal government’s approval of an experimental population of wolves in the state “a critical component to the success” of the plan. The plan is required by the passage of Proposition 114, approved by voters in November 2020, which directs CPW to restore wolves in Colorado. 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says it will have a final decision on the so-called 10(j) rule by mid-December, which would establish reintroduced wolves in Colorado as an experimental population that allows for management strategies like killing wolves that are threatening livestock. Killing wolves that are killing livestock — which is allowed in…