UPDATE: - April 3, 2024

On April 1st, the Colorado General Assembly website listed HB24 - 1375 as "postponed indefinitely",

Editorial About Colorado House Bill 1375 - Another Attack on the Western Slope

Article Excerpts:

"When urban Front Range liberals released wolves on Western Slope farmers and ranchers, they illustrated how 51% of voters can tyrannize the other 49%. In this case, a slim majority brazenly imposed liability on a large minority. Wolves kill livestock, outdoor pets and on rare occasions, children.

Because the wolves certainly will kill livestock and herding animals, the Legislature in 2023 passed Senate Bill 255. It established the half-million-dollar Wolf Depredation Compensation Fund to reimburse “people who suffer damages because of gray wolf depredation.”

"Today, legislators want to gum up the compensation fund with bureaucratic hurdles that will impose costs on farmers and ranchers. Under House Bill 1375, Western Slope residents would qualify for compensation only after proving they were kind to the wolves that preyed on their animals.

Sponsored by state Sen. Kevin Priola and state Rep. Tammy Story, the bill excludes from compensation any applicants who have failed to implement “nonlethal coexistence strategies"

"“Coexistence strategies” mentioned in the bill include “carnivore-proof fencing,” “fladry” (i.e. rope-mounted flags), “fox lights,” and “training in the application of animal husbandry practices that minimize the risk of wolf depredation.”

The bill directs the Division of Parks and Wildlife to administer community grants to help pay for “coexistence strategies,” including compensation for livestock range riders and educational programs.

If this bill becomes law, compensation becomes control. It requires farmers and ranchers to spend time and money trying to “coexist” with creatures that have historically been anathema in livestock country. When wolves attack livestock, the owners will be made whole by the state — if, and only if, they prove to authorities that they employed extraordinary measures to correct the instinctive actions of wolves."

Link to full article in The Gazette HERE

Link to Colorado House Bill 1375 on Legiscan HERE

To print a .pdf of HB 1375 language, see link below