DENVER (KDVR) — A new bill at the Colorado State Capitol would temporarily halt the state’s gray wolf reintroduction program and redirect funding to help cover health insurance costs.
The proposal, co-sponsored by Rep. Matthew Martinez, would move about $264,000 out of Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s wolf program and into the Colorado Health Insurance Affordability Enterprise.
Martinez said the change is necessary as lawmakers confront a more than $1 billion state budget shortfall. He noted that the wolf program has cost far more than originally anticipated, with $3.4 million spent last year alone compared to the $800,000 voters were told when Proposition 114 passed in 2020.
“You look at what the initial ballot initiative had stated … $800,000 for this program in its entirety — we’re looking at a little over $3.4 million in this last budget year alone,” Martinez said.
Supporters of the measure, including livestock producers, say it’s a chance to hit pause on reintroductions while the state gets its finances under control.
But wildlife advocates argue the bill goes much further than moving money. Michael Saul with Defenders of Wildlife said the legislation would forbid CPW from releasing any additional wolves, calling it an attempt to undermine the will of voters.
“If you read the text of this bill, it does much more than simply move a relatively small amount of money around; it expressly forbids Colorado Parks and Wildlife from reintroducing any more wolves,” Saul said.
Colorado voters approved Proposition 114 in 2020, requiring CPW to restore gray wolves to the Western Slope. Since 2023, the agency has released dozens of wolves, with packs already breeding and spreading.
The legislation is expected to be introduced on Thursday as part of a special session focused on Colorado’s budget crisis. It is likely to spark sharp debate over whether fiscal pressures should outweigh voter-mandated conservation efforts.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
