This years most controversial ballot measure.... (no not that one)

For some reason they decided voters needed to decide on a measure to introduce wolves into the state of colorado. I think it was our closest measure on the ballot.

What was funny to me is that the Yes votes came from the City and Suburban folks and the no votes came from the places where they actually plan to put the wolves.

I think this is not fair, we need to have at least a few wolves in downtown area parks to keep the annoying chihuahua population under control!

I still dont know why this is a voter issue, to me thats what we pay US Fish & Wildlife and the State Wildflife People to do?

We didn't get to vote on it since we are not within city limits, but the city had to put it on the ballot before they could move forward.  Recreational weed.  We already have medicinal allowed.  Hell we have a huge grow house in the industrial park, so it makes sense to expand the operation.  

Same thing happened in Maine a few years ago, except it was you couldn't use bait to hunt bears. For the most part, hunting bears without bait is unsuccessful, but they really need to be kept under control. Cause they are bears. Southern ME- no bears, huge money from the Humane Society and PETA, lots of people and the ballot measure passed. I have not heard if there are more human bear conflicts yet, but my parents are a little south of bear country and its not a problem yet. 

As for the wolves here, what perplexes me is the groups that pushed this want wolves. This ballot measure is purely to create a plan to reintroduce. Everything I am reading is wolves are moving here on there own, and before this plan gets made there will be a reproducing population. Now, if the state creates a plan, that state plan can involve hunting wolves to control the population. I don't see how that coincides with the desire to have wolves? If they migrate and create there own population, I am not sure how the state management/control works, but I know it is more complicated. 

Frankly, I would prefer wolves on the landscape here for the ecology benefits. I am in eastern Boulder County and not particularly worried about them. This whole thing just seems like a waste of time and someone with an agenda. There will be so many lawsuits filed...

I would 100% support releasing a few on the 16th Street Mall, and my office is on 15th Street (back when I used to go there). 

I think most can see where the elk population near RMNP is overpopulated - but thats not where they plan to put them.  Maybe they could also increase hunting around the park and *gasp in the park?

I saw they spent near $2Million on this ballot - I didnt really have a position either way, the results at Yellowstone apear to have worked to help control the elk heards and such. I voted no just because I didnt really think this was something that needed to be on the ballot.  Maybe the western slope is also heavily inundated with Elk?

I think there is also a plan to pay ranchers for cattle that get killed by wolves.  I dont know how often a pack of wolves eat? One a day per pack?

If you listen to the Montana ranchers, the wolves are sport hunters that have fancy hunting lodges. Also, the bison are stone cold killers who will also track down children for their pelts. 

If they are going to vote on it, it should be at the county level. It's not right for all the transplants in Denver to get to decide this issue.

csb said:

If you listen to the Montana ranchers, the wolves are sport hunters that have fancy hunting lodges. Also, the bison are stone cold killers who will also track down children for their pelts. 

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Also, the ranchers claim they brought in the meanest, nastiest most violent wolves they had in Canada in the mid 90's.

I was thinking the same thing about RMNP. They really should, it is unnatural for that many elk to be in that area and that predictable. The western slope is actually seeing declining elk numbers, hence why a lot of hunting groups and western slope landowners opposed/fought this. I would also like to see a photographer get ravaged every once in a while. Those asshats get way to close to wild animals with spears firmly attached to there heads. 

Typically state management plans have a provision for livestock kills, I am sure this one would too. I believe that wouldn't be created if the wolves migrated on there own. From what I have read a pack will take down the equivalent of 2 fullsize elk a week (going off memory here). But they do a number on the calving season. And mulies. Sometimes they will just murk stuff and not eat it. Wolves and mountain lions prefer fresh kills, bears and a lot of others don't care or even prefer older cached kills.  

We have gators that eat children at Disney and no ones crying about them?

bwin12 said:

Same thing happened in Maine a few years ago, except it was you couldn't use bait to hunt bears. For the most part, hunting bears without bait is unsuccessful, but they really need to be kept under control. Cause they are bears. Southern ME- no bears, huge money from the Humane Society and PETA, lots of people and the ballot measure passed. I have not heard if there are more human bear conflicts yet, but my parents are a little south of bear country and its not a problem yet. 

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It was defeated. We can still use bait 

LyceeFruit PE said:

It was defeated. We can still use bait 

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I should expect this after getting "facts" from my parents. This is the 3rd ballot vote on bear hunting in less than 20 years right? 

I went with a friend back in GA who was a game warden to do a bear count. We went to a place in North Ga I had been trout fishing several times and he hung out some bait bags, and we sat on the opposite ridge and watched way more bears than I ever thought would be in the area!

bwin12 said:

I should expect this after getting "facts" from my parents. This is the 3rd ballot vote on bear hunting in less than 20 years right? 

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2014 was the 2nd time it was on the ballot - that's when it was defeated. I don't recall seeing it again. 

According to the BDN, 1st time was 2004. 

I'm not a hunter so I'm not at all well-versed in this but baiting bears seems unsportsman to me. But if it's the only way to actually hunt them and keep the population under control, then so be it. If it came up again on our ballots, I'd have conversations with my partner and his dad (who was a Maine Guide for hunting and just sold bear camp) to better understand it all 

I am conflicted on the sportsman aspect as well. You rarely see them during the day, but when you do its pretty crazy. I understand the need for bait if you want to effectively hunt them. Also, the use of bait does not equate to 100% success.

This dude found me in Alaska when I was working on a remote site. Awesomely terrifying. 

bwin12 said:

You rarely see them during the day, but when you do its pretty crazy.

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I've only ever seen them in the day (tbh I'm not out at night a lot lol)

But I've run into one hiking, seen a few while heading to site visits, and also growing up, there were some that hung out on my great uncle's porch (they were after his bird feeders). All of that is in NH 

maybe colorado is on to something

I would be 100% behind setting wolves loose in the Capitol Building.

it would also be funny is someone is being a karen / ken at a restaurant and there was a button you could press and a wolf would run out and chase said person out of the restaurant 

I shoot wolves.