Rewilding At a Cost

Common Sense Institute released two reports on agriculture. Both were released to the public today.

Wolf Reintroduction - Rewilding at a Cost

Among the key findings:

The State of Colorado has spent $3.5 million in the past year (between May 2024 and August 2025) on wolf reintroduction efforts – more than triple the amount initially communicated to voters during the 2020 ballot measure campaign.
Each adult wolf is associated with roughly 2 confirmed depredation cases per year.
CSI estimates each case costs ranchers and farmers approximately $32,000.
Between 2026 and 2040, Colorado’s reintroduction program is expected to cost the entire state over $334 million in GDP

Public Resources on Private Property: Why the Right to Float is Complicated and How Colorado Addresses It - Public Resources on Private Property

Among the key findings:

While water flowing through Colorado’s streams and rivers is public, the streambed and embankments are often privately owned meaning wading and anchoring could be considered trespassing.
Access disputes in recent decades have been solved through case-by-case mediation rather than through a firm legal framework.
Since its inception in 1994, Great Outdoors Colorado has spent an estimated $1.6 billion on various projects across the state including expanding river and stream access funded primarily with state lottery revenue.
In 2023 alone, outdoor recreation is estimated to have contributed to the Colorado economy $36.5 billion in GDP (8.5% of state total).

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