Over the weekend, Colorado First Gentleman Marlon Reis deactivated his social media accounts after getting into a heated discussion about wolves on Facebook. Reis, who is married to Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, had posted online about grants the state was offering for nonlethal wolf deterrents when he got into an argument with David Gittleson, a rancher in Walden — a town of about 600 people 150 miles northwest of Denver.
Gittleson has been dealing with wolves killing his livestock even before Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) formally reintroduced them to the state in December. Reis railed at Gittleson, saying he didn’t care about the rancher’s family or qualifications to comment on the issue.
Reis also accused Gittleson of abusing the media by stoking fear of wolves and said that an entire agency is at his disposal for solving disputes. He urged Gittleson to use the system that has been set up and not expect special treatment, as the law applies equally to all parties.
It’s unclear what Gittleson had said to provoke Reis. By Monday, the “First Gentleman Marlon Reis” Facebook page was no longer publicly active on Facebook.
Gov. Polis’ spokesperson explained that Reis views social media as a tool for celebrating animals and sharing the many ways in which the Polis Administration is proactively working to protect them. However, he decided to deactivate his social media channels due to the increase in negative commentary and the misinformation being spread on them.
Recently, several animals have been attacked by a pack of 10 wolves since they were brought to Colorado this winter as part of a voter-approved reintroduction plan. Wildlife agencies are now trying to capture and relocate the pack after its repeated attacks on livestock, marking an early stumble in the first year of the initiative.
Ranching groups want the wolf pack killed, but wildlife advocates believe more should have been done to keep the wolves from killing livestock, such as using electric fencing that can better deter attacks. Unlike other states where wolves have been reintroduced, Colorado officials have decided not to kill wolves for killing livestock because there aren’t “enough wolves on the landscape to lethally remove” the pack.
Reis is described as “a freelance writer, an animal welfare advocate, a father, and the first First Gentleman of Colorado.” He and Polis were married in 2021 and share two children.
