![]() The state came up with what might be a workable plan, then largely shelved it in recent years to focus on the more controversial and complex effort to bring gray wolves back. Ski areas, which often seek to expand or clear trees on federal land where species like the lynx need habitat (and now the wolverine), are frequently one of those “interested parties.”Ī new wolverine planning process began in earnest again in 2010, Mueller said. The federal Endangered Species Act requires that reintroduction of listed species be approved by state legislatures, and go through a public dialogue process to consider concerns of landowners and other interested parties. One of the recent serious efforts at reintroduction was in the 1990s, but the division then got caught up in the more urgent reintroduction of the Canada lynx. State officials and wildlife advocates are planning on it.Ĭolorado Parks and Wildlife officials have studied the possibilities of wolverine reintroduction for years. Does the new protected status for wolverines mean they might come back? That migration became the first known presence of a wolverine in North Dakota since 1889, and subsequent events might have explained why Wolverine AAA left the state out of the guidebooks: In 2016, a ranch hand in McKenzie County shot M56. Wolverines were common in Colorado until the early 1900s, when trapping for their luxurious fur and poisoning by wary ranchers wiped them out.Īs The Sun wrote in 2022, a radio-collared wolverine wandered south into Colorado in 2009, made it all the way down to the Leadville area in search of moose and a Blu-ray copy of “Deadpool.” That wolverine was, at the time, the only Coloradan in history who decided moving to North Dakota represented a positive life change. Did we used to have a lot of wolverines not named “Jed Eckert”?Ībsolutely. Modeling of reintroduction shows bringing wolverines back here could “increase their numbers in the lower 48 by 33%,” Mueller said. Fish & Wildlife Service)Īnd “we have the largest remaining block of unoccupied habitat left for wolverines, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife,” Mueller said. Estimated remaining range of the threatened wolverine species, according to federal studies. Climate change could leave Colorado with more of that high snowy band than anywhere else. It’s also that real-life wolverine mamas need long-lasting high altitude spring snow for burrows to protect their young. It’s not just that Colorado’s mountains were the setting for “Red Dawn,” and that cinematic masterpiece’s plucky, mulleted band of high school rebels singlehandedly overthrowing a Russian/Cuban invasion of cruel soldiers brandishing rocket launchers and career-ending accents. ![]() We’re perfect, says Megan Mueller of the nonprofit Rocky Mountain Wild. Is Colorado a natural home for wolverines? Seeing one would be an absolute bucket list entry for Colorado backcountry fans. They scavenge deer, elk, moose or rabbits through frozen mountain valleys, and hunt at night. There are only 200 to 300 in all of the lower U.S., making them a rarity on par with their weasel-family cousins, the black-footed ferret. Trackers of radio collars have watched a wolverine climb up a 1,500-foot avalanche chute in 20 minutes. One male wolverine holds a territory 20 miles by 20 miles square. They punch (and claw) way above their weight - at only 15 to 40 pounds they have battled grizzlies and won. Why should we care about non-Hollywood wolverines? All gratuitous pop culture references are ours, not theirs. We asked state and nonprofit experts our top wolverine questions, and now share their responses with you. The fiercely fanged, tirelessly foraging, and determinedly private critters could agree with wildlife advocates and state officials that Colorado might be their first choice for relocation. Fish and Wildlife Service now listing wolverines as officially “threatened,” the animal the Norwegians know as “fjellfross” clawed its way up the laddered protections of the Endangered Species list. And that one spent the next seven years padding to North Dakota only to be shot by a rancher misguided about what ranked as a predator. That’s because no actual furry, clawed wolverine - mullet or abs status unknown - has been confirmed in Colorado for 14 years. If your only reference for “wolverines” is either Patrick Swayze’s smokin’ mullet in “Red Dawn” or Hugh Jackman’s smokin’ abs in “X Men,” you’re not alone. Meet Colorado’s Congressional delegation. ![]() Is the wolverine coming back to Colorado? Close
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