Livestock Associations Sue Colorado, U.S. Fish and Wildlife to Delay Gray Wolf Reintroduction

Dec 13, 2023

By Katie Langford

The Colorado Cattlemen's Association and Gunnison County Stockgrowers' Association sued Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week to delay the reintroduction of gray wolves into Colorado.

The complaint alleges the two agencies violated the National Environmental Policy Act by not conducting an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement on the "environmental consequences of reintroducing gray wolves to Colorado."

Previous environmental impact studies released this fall did not address those issues, the lawsuit states.

The Colorado Cattlemen's Association, which represents 6,000 members, has long opposed the ballot measure to reintroduce gray wolves, with officials describing it as a threat to humans, domestic pets, livestock and wildlife.

Under the state's reintroduction plan, up to 10 wolves will be brought to Colorado from Oregon by plane or truck and released in Summit, Eagle or Grand counties by the end of the year, where they will likely disperse by up to 70 miles.

The agency plans to bring up to 50 more wolves to Colorado over the next five years.

But despite years of planning and development, state and federal wildlife officials did not take the required steps to analyze the impact of gray wolf reintroduction as required under the National Environmental Policy Act, the lawsuit alleges.

In a statement, Gunnison County Stockgrowers' Association President Andy Spann said concerns raised by the group during the reintroduction plan's development were not sufficiently resolved.

Click here to see more...

Video: Swine Industry Advances: Biodigesters Lower Emissions and Increase Profits

Analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG emissions) in the Canadian swine sector found that CH4 emissions from manure were the largest contributor to the overall emissions, followed by emissions from energy use and crop production.

This innovative project, "Improving Swine Manure-Digestate Management Practices Towards Carbon Neutrality With Net Zero Emission Concepts," from Dr. Rajinikanth Rajagopal, under Swine Cluster 4, seeks to develop strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

While the management of manure can be very demanding and expensive for swine operations, it can also be viewed as an opportunity for GHG mitigation, as manure storage is an emission source built and managed by swine producers. Moreover, the majority of CH4 emissions from manure occur during a short period of time in the summer, which can potentially be mitigated with targeted intervention.

In tandem with understanding baseline emissions, Dr. Rajagopal's work focuses on evaluating emission mitigation options. Manure additives have the potential of reducing manure methane emissions. Additives can be deployed relatively quickly, enabling near-term emission reductions while biodigesters are being built. Furthermore, additives can be a long-term solution at farms where biogas is not feasible (e.g., when it’s too far from a central digester). Similarly, after biodigestion, additives can also be used to further reduce emissions from storage to minimize the carbon intensity of the bioenergy.