Economic wins and losses from reintroducing wolves in Colorado
Dana Hoag, J. Burkhardt, B. Ghasemi, and R. Young ( April, 2023 )
Summary
This study provides information about the potential costs and benefits of wolf reintroduction. Advocates get to enjoy the financial equivalent of a $115 million per year of benefit through the knowledge that wolves will be reintroduced. If the distribution of benefits is proportionate to where the yes voters reside, then 89.7% percent of the benefits will occur in the Front Range where wolves are unlikely to be seen, and only 5.4% percent of the benefits are on the Western Slope where most of the costs will occur. That is, the benefit-cost ratio obscures a highly disproportionate and potentially inequitable distribution of benefits and costs. A pressing question for many people in Colorado is: How much of the benefit from reintroduction can and should be used to compensate the people that incur the costs? Though it would be difficult, people on both sides would benefit from discussions about how benefits and costs might be shared. For perspective, it would take less than 2% of the benefits to double what the government plans to spend on compensation and management. Several groups offer assistance to effected livestock producers. For example, the Wolf Conflict Reduction Fund at Colorado State University accepts tax deductible donations to implement on-the-ground, non-lethal tools to assist livestock producers and local communities in regions with wolves (https://advancing.colostate.edu/WOLFCONFLICTREDUCTION).
Details
| Publisher | Regional Economic Development Institute, Colorado State University |
| Publication Date | April, 2023 |
| Publication Views | 53 |
| Material Type | Written Material |