Colorado Governor Polis vetoes gray wolves reintroduction bill
DENVER, Colo. (KRDO) -- Tuesday, Governor Jared Polis vetoed SB23-256, Management Of Gray Wolves Reintroduction.
If passed, SB23-256 would've given the state greater flexibility to manage the wolves.
In a public letter to the Department of Natural Resources Executive Director Dan Gibbs, Polis stated officials need to obtain a 10j rule before the release of gray wolves in Colorado.
Under this, gray wolves will be designated as a "non-essential, experimental population" under 16 U.S.C. sec 1539 (j), commonly known as "10j."
The letter states it's expected the 10j to be in place before the introduction of gray wolves to Colorado in December of 2023.
In a veto letter, Polis states SB23-256 is "unnecessary and undermines the voters' intent and the hard work of the Parks and Wildlife Commission." He went on to say the bill could potentially interfere with successfully receiving experimental population designation, which is the purported purpose of the bill.
He ends it by stating, "The management of the reintroduction of gray wolves into Colorado is best left to the Parks and Wildlife Commission as the voters explicitly mandated."
