Aspen talks will address nearby wolverine reintroduction

In 2017, Hugh Jackman admitted that he didn’t know wolverines were real.

“I didn’t even know there was a wolverine,” he said at a panel, as reported by Page Six. “I literally, embarrassingly, did about two weeks of research on wolves.”

Now, eight years later, the Center for Human Carnivore Coexistence with Colorado State University Extension is determined to delineate the two species and educate the public in anticipation of a plan to restore wolverines to Colorado and nearby the Roaring Fork Valley.

The Center for Human Carnivore Coexistence will be co-hosting two talks at the Aspen Public Library with presenter and graduate student Kaitlyn Reed and Defenders of Wildlife. The first talk will take place from noon to 1:30 p.m., Thursday, and the second will take place 10:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday, June 28, providing early education on the predator species and reducing conflict concerns. 

“Wolverines in particular are not a well-known species,” said Mireille (Ray) Gonzalez, co-director and research associate with the Center for Human Carnivore Coexistence. “I would say that most people don’t know anything about them, so I think it’s really important for Coloradans to attend these events.”

Aspen community members will have the chance to learn more about the native species’ history, ecological importance, and local relevance. One of the potential reintroduction areas identified by Colorado Parks and Wildlife as it develops its plan is close to Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley.

“Because they are a very niche species in that they’re not generalists, there are not that many systems left that are going to be able to support their habitat needs,” Gonzalez said. 

According to her, the deep snowpack, high elevation, and cold climate of the Roaring Fork Valley make it ideal to help the at-risk species weather the impending threat of climate change, which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service confirmed will be the “most significant stressor” for wolverine populations in the coming years.

While Colorado is native habitat for wolverines, the species was extirpated, or eradicated, in the 1900s due to unregulated harvest and broad-scale carnivore poisoning, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates there are fewer than 400 wolverines in the contiguous U.S. in only eight Western states, listing them on the Endangered Species Act in 2023.

“When it comes to predators, I think we see this narrative in Colorado, and also more broadly, about conflict with carnivores,” Gonzalez said. “There are almost no recorded events of wolverines predating on livestock. It’s pretty unlikely they’re going to come into contact with most livestock, and it’s also unlikely there’s going to be any impact to recreationists.”

Kaitie Schneider, Rockies and Plains representative for Defenders of Wildlife, echoed that wolverines are rarely in conflict with humans or livestock. 

“Wolverines are a pretty easy creature to coexist with,” Schneider said. “They’re typically found in habitats that are pretty remote.”

She also emphasized that the mission of reintroducing wolverines to the state, which appears to be riding on the coattails of wolf reintroduction, has actually been a plan in the making for decades.

“It’s something that biologists and CPW have been thinking about since the ’90s,” she said. “Everyone has always recognized their importance on the landscape. This has been in the works for a really really long time. A lot of thought has been put into it.”

And despite the low risk of livestock conflict, legislation passed in 2024 to give CPW authority to reintroduce the wolverine to Colorado stated that CPW is mandated to provide compensation to livestock owners for any depredation. 

Gonzalez said she believes the most conflict will come not from wolverine-human conflict, but from human-human conflict over disagreement about the carnivore’s restoration.

“What I’m really concerned about is that social conflict piece,” Gonzalez said. “People don’t understand a lot about wolverines. It’s easy to mix them up with wolves, and we’re coming off of a really contentious carnivore reintroduction … Now is a really pivotal time in Colorado to head off that potential conflict — this is something we’re hoping to address with these events.”

Those who attend the talks will also be invited to participate in a study on community sentiment through a pre- and post- talk survey, although participation in the survey is not required. 

While the reintroduction is still “a few years off from paws hitting the ground,” according to Schneider, educating people early on the reality of wolverines is a key to allowing Colorado to be a place of refuge for them.

“Reintroducing wolverines to the Southern Rockies is one of the biggest things we can do to help this species,” Schneider said. “Colorado could be a really great stronghold for this species in the future.”

To RSVP for either talk, visit colostate.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3O5DRZonyzH8OUe. A talk in Glenwood Springs is slated for the near future.