Wolverines!

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https://completecolorado.com/2025/08...ines-colorado/

No, not the heroic band of ragamuffins that saved the country from the Russians profiled in the 1984 documentary 'Red Dawn'.

On the heels of the wolf release, and passage of a 2024 bill, the CPW wants to release a hoard of giant weasels throughout the state.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is in the final stages of a development plan to bring wolverines into the state, with a target date of late 2027 at the earliest for actually getting paws on the ground.
...each general release zone will receive between 10-15 wolverines every year for three years... wolverines are not that serious a threat to livestock, and thus could be a positive addition to Colorado's wildlife ecosystem if done right.

I wish I could use my metal detector on the shores of Lake Pueblo. I take home everything I dig up, including nails, bottle caps, etc. The policy is don't remove anything from the lake. Not sure what you can do if you remove a ring or keys you lost in the water. Spending money on wolverines? Seriously?

I remember how this played out…

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Were wolverines ever indigenous to Colorado?

I've spent a fair amount of time hiking through un-trailed areas in the mountains and not once did I ever say to myself "Do you know what this state is missing? Wolverines!" (the same can be said for wolves)

I’m sure there’s no harm in introducing a non native species to a new ecosystem…

Remember….dinosaurs WERE indigenous…. This isn’t gonna end well folks.

I had no idea they were introduced in the 90?s.

?Introduction of Wolverines in the Park

Wolverines were reintroduced to Rocky Mountain National Park in the 1990s as part of a conservation effort to restore their population in the area. Since then, researchers have been studying their behavior and movements to better understand their habitat needs and ensure their long-term survival.?

https://www.nationalparkstraveler.or...ional-park6363

https://www.coloradoan.com/story/new...k/72928920007/

https://nationalparksdata.com/the-wo...national-park/


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Can we train them to kill praire dogs? You know the furry critters that carry the plague!


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yersinia_pestis

Oh for fucks sakes, let’s just bring back Grizzlies too while we are at it….

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Originally Posted by BPTactical

Oh for fucks sakes, let’s just bring back Grizzlies too while we are at it….

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Now we’re talking!

Wolverines tend to be solitary and do not migrate, they stick close to their den.

yeah lets bring in meth raged giant honey badgers.

They will challenge grizzly and polar bears.

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Originally Posted by Clint45

Wolverines tend to be solitary and do not migrate, they stick close to their den.

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They are roaming scavengers.

https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Reso...mals/Wolverine
https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/5123

The wolverine ranges widely, up to 15 miles a day, and needs lots of habitat. Home ranges can vary from 100 to 600 square miles. In the lower 48, they live primarily at high altitudes with alpine vegetation, but can venture to lower elevations. It is estimated that 25 to 300 live in the lower 48 states.

Movement / Home Range
Wolverines have large spatial requirements; the availability and distribution of food is likely the primary factor in determining wolverine movements and home range (Hornocker and Hash 1981; Banci 1994). Wolverines can travel long distances over rough terrain and deep snow, with adult males generally covering greater distances than females (Hornocker and Hash 1981; Banci 1994). Home ranges of wolverines are generally extremely large, but vary greatly depending on availability of food, gender, age, and differences in habitat. Home ranges of adult wolverines range from less than 100 square kilometers (km2) to over 900 km2 (38.5 square miles (mi2) to 348 mi2) (Banci 1994). Home range sizes are large relative to the body size of wolverines, and may indicate that wolverines occupy a relatively unproductive niche in which they must forage over large areas to consume the amount of calories needed to meet their life-history requirements (Inman et al. 2007a, p. 11).

While I have long opposed the wolf reintroduction efforts in CO, I think that wolverine reintroduction is appropriate and beneficial. They are a legacy species once native to CO, and they'll have little impact on deer and elk populations. Wolverines will prey upon alpine and sub alpine species, small birds, ptarmigan, marmot, pikas and hares, all of which are declining above timberline due to climate change. So, it's not all positives. The pressure on timberline species is exacerbated in RMNP due to prohibition against hunting elk in the park where the beasts trample and consume the habitat. Okay, I'll avoid going further into the weed after stating the NPS has presided over an ongoing 70 year ecological catastrophe since they took control of RMNP region.

Go wolverines! If only our esteemed Gov would be eaten by one when doing the photo op.

Just tase it with a drone bro

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Originally Posted by BPTactical

Oh for fucks sakes, let?s just bring back Grizzlies too while we are at it?.

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We already have a hockey team [ROFL1]

Now it finally makes sense. It is for the new campers...

https://www.cpr.org/show-episode/fir...s-in-colorado/

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Originally Posted by BushMasterBoy

Now it finally makes sense. It is for the new campers...

https://www.cpr.org/show-episode/fir...s-in-colorado/

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Oh FFS: According to the article-gathering in nature is not only rejuvenating, it is validating...but only for select groups of people.

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Originally Posted by Hummer

The pressure on timberline species is exacerbated in RMNP due to prohibition against hunting elk in the park where the beasts trample and consume the habitat. Okay, I'll avoid going further into the weed after stating the NPS has presided over an ongoing 70 year ecological catastrophe since they took control of RMNP region.

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Please continue, would appreciate learning more. This gets at the whole Yellowstone/wolf/aspen discussion but at a higher altitude.

Wolverines are native to Colorado and should be brought back. Would have preferred natural wolf migration that was already happening versus the forced disruption that threw a monkey wrench into everything.

Mountain goats and moose are non-native and just brought in for hunting and screwed up a lot of habitats. Too late but they are the real invasives of the megafauna.

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Originally Posted by Clint45

Wolverines tend to be solitary and do not migrate, they stick close to their den.

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Male wolverines in Montana have a home range of somewhere around 160 sq miles while male wolverines in Alaska have a home range of around 200-260 sq miles. They are known to travel up to 15 miles a day.

The problem with wolverines in Colorado is that they generally require high alpine habitat with persistent snow fields and don't do well in temps above 70 degrees. The reason why you don't see them in Colorado is because the habitat they need is limited. Historically there were never really that many of them here in the first place. If they are re-introduced you can say goodbye to hiking and camping on many 14ers.

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Originally Posted by Mtneer

Wolverines are native to Colorado and should be brought back.

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By that logic, we should also bring back dinosaurs, mammoths, and malaria — they all used to be here too.

The real problem that could actually impact forest users is the Endangered Species Act.

That can mean trail and road closures, ski and snowmobile restrictions, and more restricted access for anyone using public land every time someone finds a wolverine turd in the snow.

And for what benefit? It's not like there is an ecological niche that existing birds and animals don't already fill. As BushMasterBoy said, this $850k could be better used elsewhere.

I have nothing against this in theory, but as Tom Sowell says, intentions and outcomes are often two wildly different things.

They can sell it as biodiversity and research, but the outcome will be less use of public land by the public. Which is exactly what leftists want.

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Originally Posted by eddiememphis

I have nothing against this in theory, but as Tom Sowell says, intentions and outcomes are often two wildly different things.

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"Unintended consequences."

Topic experts typically are excluded from these hearings.