CSU studies: What influenced Coloradoans on close vote to reintroduce wolves

by Colorado State University
April 5, 2022

In November 2020, Colorado voters approved Proposition 114, which mandated that Colorado Parks and Wildlife develop a plan to start reintroducing gray wolves (Canis lupus) to the western part of the state by 2023. The initiative passed narrowly with 50.9 percent of the Colorado public voting in favor.

Given the close nature of the vote and the need to integrate diverse perspectives in the wolf reintroduction plan, researchers at the Colorado State University Center for Human-Carnivore Coexistence conducted two studies on what influenced public voting on the issue.

Wolves were eliminated from Colorado by the 1940s through a government-sponsored eradication campaign. Wolf reintroduction is a contentious issue, affecting diverse stakeholders, including ranchers, hunters and environmental and animal advocates. 

Keep reading: https://warnercnr.source.colostate.edu/csu-studies-what-influenced-coloradoans-on-close-vote-to-reintroduce-wolves/

Read the Ecological Applications paper: https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/eap.2532