Colorado wildlife officials are working to hire range riders to protect livestock from the recently reintroduced wolves as some elected officials are pushing to remove gray wolves from the endangered species list.

Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, whose district includes much of Colorado's Eastern Plains, is part of an effort to remove the gray wolf from the endangered species list. The Pet and Livestock Protection Act aims to give states control over their own gray wolf populations.

Ranchers have continuously raised concerns about wolves preying on livestock while wildlife biologists and environmental activists say wolves are vital to keeping ecological balance and preventing certain species from becoming overpopulated.  

Meanwhile, Colorado Parks and Wildlife is working to deploy range riders -- people who patrol ranches day and night to help protect livestock from wolves. The agency has already started recruiting people for the role.

"It's the conversations happening now -- between producers, potential range riders, and those who have successfully used range riders in other states -- that are going to shape Colorado's approach," CPW officials said.

CPW is working to educate communities on range riders as an additional layer of protection where wolves have been released. Experts from Arizona, Oregon, and other Western states where wolf populations have been managed spoke at a recent gathering, sharing insights on the relationship between ranchers and wildlife officials.

"There's a better opportunity to get ahead of things based on the experiences that we've had elsewhere," Sisto Hernandez, a rancher from Arizona, said. "But there's still an opportunity within the challenge."

"You need to start with a foundation, and I don't think you have one," another Arizona rancher said, reflecting concerns about the state's approach to wolf reintroduction.

Among those interested in becoming a range rider is Colorado State University graduate Emma Baker, who hopes to bridge the gap between ranchers and conservationists.

"It's hard, it's really hard. I think people come from opposite perspectives, and I guess you could say they're pulling apart," Baker said. "I think people willing to have more conversations about it would help for sure."

A background in agriculture and ecological preservation, gives Baker a unique perspective, allowing her to sympathize with both sides.

"I was taught that every species exists for a reason, and so it has a negative effect; to completely eliminate a species," she said. "But I also understand how financially and emotionally damaging it is -- and as they were saying in the talk, genetically, if you lose a cow or a sheep that's really good, it's hard -- I do see both sides of it, so that's why I can only try to meet in the middle."

CPW hopes to have more than a dozen range riders in place by calving season when livestock is most vulnerable, but the agency is still in the process of hiring and training them.

Source - https://www.cbsnews.com