On Wednesday, the Colorado Parks & Wildlife Commission (CPW) voted 7-4 against the reintroduction of both Mexican wolves and gray wolves into the state despite public support for the animals. This decision follows a lengthy debate that created heated discussions between ranchers, hunters, farmers, wildlife advocates, and others.

During the CPW’s meeting, wolf advocates demonstrated outside of the office, waving signs in support of the reintroduction of the endangered Mexican gray wolves into Colorado. Supporters say that they will fight the CPWC’s decision and believe that wolves belong in the state.

“There is no reason that wolves have to be considered the demon of livestock, it’s just not factual,” Delia Malone of the Sierra Club Rocky Mountain Chapter told CBS Denver.

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Yet CPW spokesperson Matt Robbins says that a reintroduction and wolf management recovery plan would take money that the state doesn’t have. He adds that the “approved resolution falls in line with recommendations from a 2005 study.”

The irony is that, according to CBS Denver, while CPW’s decision may stir up controversy among Colorado residents, only the federal government or the actual state legislature has the power to authorize a reintroduction, which makes the approved measure largely symbolic and entirely a moot point.