Joe Rogan Details Devastating Effects Of Colorado’s Wolf Reintroduction: “Ballot Box Biology Is A Terrible Idea”

An update on how the release of wolves in Colorado is going?

At the end of 2023, a historic day happened in Colorado. Five gray wolves were released into the wild. For the first time in almost 100 years, the species put its paws on the rocky Centennial State soil, reintroducing the displaced species into a suitable habitat. Colorado is part of the gray wolf’s native range, but wolves were eradicated by the 1940s. Over the past decades, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) restored gray wolves in Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico and Arizona.

Three males and two females were captured in Oregon, evaluated by the Colorado Parks & Wildlife veterinarian team, and fitted with monitors before being released into the wild. The wolves would be tracked to monitor the migration and stability of the small pack, with the hope that they would reproduce and create a stable population.

The idea of reintroducing wolves into the state was first approached in 2020 by the first-ever voter-mandated proposition. It took years for the vote to pass, with arguments being presented by well-funded urban majorities and wolf supporters along Colorado’s Front Range who were pro-wolf, and farmers, elk hunters, and other various ranchers who opposed the reintroduction of the apex predator.

Ultimately, wolves were reintroduced, leaving farmers and ranchers very upset. Although there is a reimbursement plan for cattle farmers and other livestock production operations, it does not reimburse the farmers’ hard work, sweat, and tears that go into raising an animal.

Now, a year and a half later, we have an update. And it’s not good for ranchers (or just what you’d expect if you were a rancher fighting to keep the wolves out of Colorado).

Joe Rogan took to Instagram to share a story about his friend whose cattle population has been extensively damaged because of wolves. Rogan saw this as a chance to share with his platform the detrimental effects this has had on farmers.

“Back in February, I posted about wolves being released on my friend’s ranch outside of Aspen, and the devastation it was bound to cause. Since then, just on his neighbor’s property, they’ve had 7 calves and one cow killed by wolves, along with 4 calves and one cow wounded. And this is just one property.

This Memorial Day weekend, there was a series of wolf attacks at Lost Marbles Ranch, Crystal River Ranch, and McCabe Ranch, leaving two calves dead and others injured. These ranches have to hire men to patrol throughout the night to try to scare off wolves, and even that isn’t enough. These are cunning and intelligent killers that they’ve moved into Aspen, and they haven’t even started breeding yet. The people who live in this area are rightly freaked out by what’s happening, and it’s only going to get worse.

For the record, I love wolves and all wildlife, but moving intelligent, ruthless predators into a community filled with cattle ranches that have no experience with wolves is an insanely stupid thing to do. And they’ve spent over 4.7 million dollars of taxpayer money doing it. Ballot box biology is a terrible idea because most people have a romantic idea of what it means to have wolves living in the mountains near them.

The people outside of Aspen are getting to experience what it’s really like, and it’s only going to get worse.”

Along with describing what his friend’s ranching operation has been experiencing, he included a very graphic image of a calf that was literally torn apart by predators. It’s pretty gnarly, so click HERE if you want to see it.

While I’m not sure where Rogan is getting his numbers, as he did not cite them, Colorado Politics says the entire wolf reintroduction project will cost about $5.1 million. The blog also reported that at the end of 2024, the largest livestock loss claim since the reintroduction was filed.

“The claim totaling $422,000 said wolves killed 27 calves and cows, and more than 100 went missing in 2024. In addition, more than 1,500 cows showed lower birth rates and less weight, making the livestock less valuable at sale. The first producer claimed cattle weighed 40 pounds less, which cost ranchers $193,000.” 

The outlet reported that the same producer filed a loss claim for sheep that were killed by wolves as well.

“The same producer lost 15 sheep to wolves in 2024. That claim totaled more than $15,000.”

Regardless of your thoughts on the reintroduction, this image, or personal stories, wolves are damaging for the agricultural community. Farmers and ranchers can’t get paid or produce products if their inventory is constantly being killed, and they repeatedly have to start from zero.

That being said, it’s a nuanced topic, and of course you can understand why ranchers hate wolves. But you can also understand the environmental impacts, and why wildlife officials are looking to add them to the landscape.The post Joe Rogan Details Devastating Effects Of Colorado’s Wolf Reintroduction: “Ballot Box Biology Is A Terrible Idea” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.