Safari Club International has joined forces with Colorado Farm Bureau and other groups to join the fight against wolf introduction in Colorado. The organization recently joined the steering committee for Coloradans Protecting Wildlife, the issue committee started by CFB to opposed the forced introduction on non-native wolves.

Safari Club chapters from all across the country donated more than $140,000 in funding to the campaign at their recent convention in Reno.

Wildlife management by ballot box is a horrible precedent to set,” says Ben Cassidy, Director of Government Affairs for SCI. “Wildlife management decisions should be made by the biologists, wildlife managers and scientists who have the expertise and experience to make decisions that will affect Colorado’s wildlife and those who enjoy that wildlife.”

Aside from the obvious safety concern of releasing wolves into a rapidly growing state that already boasts six million residents, the ballot effort has raised red flags in the hunting community. Forcing the sudden presence of an apex predator into the ecosystem would likely have disastrous effects on the large ungulate populations for which Colorado is famous the Safari Club said.

“We couldn’t be happier to have the support of Safari Club International and their grassroots members from across the country,” said Shawn Martini, spokesman for Coloradans Protecting Wildlife. “It’s clear that organizations that do real wildlife conservation work and have a presence in wild areas understand the horrible precedent this ballot initiative would set. Science should drive wildlife management decisions, not voters at the ballot box.”

The donation and commitment to participate in the initiative campaign comes on the heels of the addition of another conservation organization, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.