Implement And Finance Gray Wolf Reintroduction

At the November 2020 general election, the voters approved proposition 114, which:

• Approved the reintroduction of gray wolves on designated lands in Colorado west of the continental divide beginning no later than December 31, 2023; and
• Acknowledged that the general assembly may adopt implementing legislation to facilitate the restoration of gray wolves to Colorado.

The bill:

• Specifies the process that the parks and wildlife commission (commission) must follow in soliciting and considering public input regarding a draft of the gray wolf reintroduction and management plan, including when the commission periodically updates the plan;
• Requires the commission to submit:
• To the general assembly the plan and specified recommendations regarding how to finance the reintroduction and management of gray wolves; and
• A request to the United States fish and wildlife service to conduct an environmental impact analysis pursuant to the federal "National Environmental Policy Act of 1969" before the reintroduction of gray wolves on designated lands that are owned and managed by the United States; and
• Requires the commission to initiate the process to remove the gray wolf from the state list of endangered or threatened species as soon as any litigation contesting the validity of the federal delisting of gray wolves has been finally resolved.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)