It's Official: Wolverines Are Coming Back to Colorado

Remember the old video about the honey badger?

About how that African/Asian critter was tougher than anything?

Well, the wolverine is the North American version of the honey badger. It can take down nearly any kind of animal (including bison, bear, and moose), and fights like a banshee, although most biologists consider it a scavenger.

Well, today Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed a North American wolverine reintroduction bill for the state, the first of its kind in the United States.

"The bill authorizes the reintroduction of the North American wolverine in the state by the division of parks and wildlife (division)," notes a legislative summary.

According to the bill, there are only three hundred to four hundred North American wolverines left in the lower forty-eight states.

Colorado is deemed prime reintroduction habitat for a handful of important reasons, including:

• The North American wolverine requires a high-elevation habitat with persistent, deep snowpack, and Colorado has some of the best remaining unoccupied wolverine habitat in the lower forty-eight states;

• The North American wolverine eats small animals, carrion, and other native prey, and conflicts with livestock are extremely rare; and

• The North American wolverine is no longer found in Colorado as it was extirpated in the early 1900s.

"The bill also creates certain requirements for the reintroduction of the North American wolverine," according to the bill's summary. "The parks and wildlife commission must adopt rules for the compensation of owners of livestock for losses caused by the North American wolverine."

In a statement, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) outlined some specifics:

"• As long as the North American wolverine remains on the list of threatened or endangered species pursuant to the Endangered Species Act, CPW will not reintroduce the species in the state until the effective date of a final rule designating the wolverine in Colorado as a nonessential experimental population.

"• CPW will work cooperatively with federal land management agencies with jurisdiction over federal public lands where North American wolverines may be released in Colorado. Although conflicts between wolverines and livestock are extremely rare, the legislation includes the provision that the Parks and Wildlife Commission will adopt rules providing for payment of fair compensation to owners of livestock for losses of livestock caused by the North American wolverine.

"• Before the reintroduction effort occurs, CPW will prepare and deliver a report on the North American wolverine in the state. CPW will also prepare a report for each of the five years after the reintroduction of the North American wolverine occurs.

"• CPW must also develop a communications plan, which includes a description of how the division will communicate with stakeholders and boards of county commissioners in the locations of proposed releases, prior to reintroduction.

"• CPW may not use funds generated from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses or from associated federal grants to implement the reintroduction.

"• The bill authorizes the CPW Director to use $750,000 from the Species Conservation Trust Fund for the reintroduction effort. The funds would become available in the state fiscal year 2024-25."

How many wolverines are we looking at?

CPW biologists estimate that the state may have enough suitable terrain to support 100–180 animals at "full carrying capacity," if wolverines in Colorado use the landscape the way they do in other northern states.

"If they do, this would significantly bolster the species’ long-term viability with a potential to increase the population in the Western U.S. by 20 percent or more," the statement said.

Well, previously I mulled over wolves running across ski slopes. This could make high-country recreation very interesting.

The statement gives no date of possible reintroduction.

“I am thrilled to welcome wolverines back to Colorado!" Polis said in a statement released at 9 pm Monday. "A diverse and healthy environment strengthens Colorado’s booming eco-tourism and outdoor recreation sectors. Today, we begin to add Wolverines to the list of animals reintroduced to Colorado, ensuring Colorado remains the best state in the nation for ecodiversity and outdoor enthusiasts."

See you—and the wolverines—out there.