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The Routt County Board of Commissioners said Tuesday the county will leave the Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado.
Each of the Routt County commissioners said the group no longer effectively represents the views and interests of the county, and the other programs it facilitates for the county could be replaced.
“I don’t think that the membership of the organization aligns with the views of Routt County and the residents and best interests of Routt County going forward,” said Commissioner Beth Melton. “I don’t think there is any way around that.”
Commissioners have foreshadowed this decision for a few weeks, making strong statements against the lobbying efforts and their experience working with the group. The main issue for commissioners is the group’s support to preserve mineral extraction and energy production in Northwest Colorado, a goal they believe the county does not share and is sometimes lobbying against.
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DENVER (AP) Colorado could have to navigate years of pending litigation over the Trump administration’s delisting of the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act as it tries to enact its own voter-approved initiative to reintroduce the predator to the state, top wildlife officials were told last week.
Lisa Reynolds, the state’s first assistant attorney general, told the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission her office expects years of litigation over the federal delisting of wolves, which took effect Jan. 4. That delisting handed over management of wolves in Colorado from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to the state.
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RBC | Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado (AGNC) has submitted a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request to determine if the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission and the Governor’s office are planning to “fast-track” the reintroduction of wolves into the state.
In an opinion piece on Colorado Politics (https://www.coloradopolitics.com/opinion/opinion-wolf-initiative-will-come-back-to-bite-us/article), AGNC Executive Director Bonnie Petersen said, “It causes grave concerns when we hear wildlife commission members advocating for a plan to introduce new wolves in Colorado circumventing the public process.”
The language on Proposition 114, which passed in November by less than 2%, scheduled reintroduction for 2023, following development of a comprehensive management plan and public input. According to Petersen and other AGNC members, a 2021 implementation is being pursued by the Governor’s office, prompting the CORA request.
Once again, out-of-state special interests have funded a ballot initiative Proposition 114: wolf introduction to manage wildlife that is neither scientific nor in the best interest of wildlife or the citizens of Colorado. The spring bear hunt ballot measure, passed in the 1980s, resulted in disastrous consequences for the bears and wildlife managers. We risk a similar outcome with Proposition 114.
It is concerning to hear wildlife commission members advocating to fast-track wolf introduction, foregoing the adequate time needed to develop a comprehensive science-based management plan. Proposition 114 requires Colorado Parks and Wildlife to “takes steps necessary to begin reintroduction of gray wolves by Dec. 31, 2023.”