Colorado Parks and Wildlife is gearing up to release 15 more wolves into Colorado’s wilds with a year’s worth of community feedback to guide them. Also, the five-member Copper Creek pack, which was captured this past summer, will be released alongside the new wolves sometime between January and March.
Wildlife officials are entering into the next phase of wolf capture and release with a revitalized conflict management program, one that the agency says is driven through community feedback, with a higher emphasis on mitigating livestock killings. Growing frustration in the West Slope is beginning to create more collaboration between landowners and the state.
“Through partnerships with the Colorado Department of Agriculture, the Colorado Wolf Restoration Ad Hoc Working Group, USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services, Colorado State University Extension, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and NGOs, we are in a position to offer Colorado livestock producers an even more robust program that includes the tools, support and resources needed to minimize wolf-livestock conflict,” said CPW Director Jeff Davis.
The 15 gray wolves are being sourced from British Columbia, Canada. Similar to the first capture effort in Oregon, wildlife officials in Canada will simply guide and mentor Colorado’s wildlife officials during the capture. The actual capture will be done by the Colorado crew.
The wolves will be transported back to Colorado as soon as they are evaluated and determined to be suitable candidates. A health evaluation will be done in Canada, which is also when the wolves will be fitted with GPS collars.
The idea is to leave as little time between capture and release to keep from putting too much stress on the animals.
The wolves will be released somewhere in Garfield, Pitkin, or Eagle counties. The state wildlife agency has remained intentionally quiet about movements and specific whereabouts to avoid conflicts with the public.
The first group of wolves was released in two sets of five in Grand County and Summit County. There is also a biological importance in adding new animals to the existing population which, in theory, will increase the likelihood of pairing, breeding and pack formation.
This, CPW says, will create more consistent territories that will allow wildlife officials to monitor patterns. View how Yellowstone officials monitor their wolf territories here.
The largest concern with the wolf release in Colorado is the potential impacts on Colorado’s livestock industry. Ranchers in primarily Grand, Summit, and Jackson counties have expressed serious concerns about depredation. Since wolves were released in December 2023, 18 livestock depredation cases have been submitted to the state.
The last documented case of confirmed wolf depredation happened in Grand County in early September.
In a recent press release, CPW laid out the details of its conflict minimization program, making a larger, bolder promise to the public that the state will be working more closely with livestock owners and ranchers.
Three wolves have died since the re-release. One wolf was preyed on by a mountain lion, the second wolf died from infection, while the third wolf was likely killed by another wolf.
The second wolf death was the male member of the Copper Creek pack. Officials said it died after transport from an infection caused by an unrelated injury. The female and four pups have since been in an undisclosed location with minimal human contact. They are said to be in great shape.
The fifth pup, currently in the wild after evading capture, also appears to be healthy. CPW is currently having conversations with local community members before the release of the female and four pups.
Some loss of wolves from the initial restoration was anticipated, CPW said. Any reintroduction effort includes eventual mortality in its plan. Colorado’s plan triggers a review if survival falls below 70 percent in the first six months.
Wolf survival was 90 percent for the first six months after translocation from Oregon. Wolf survival in Colorado is within normal margins for a wolf population in the Rocky Mountains, the state agency said.
“I want to point out that our efforts this past year have resulted in seven surviving adult wolves and five pups from the initial release of 10 adult wolves in December 2023. This is remarkable from a biological perspective. The situation with the Copper Creek pack in Middle Park was very unique as the male was involved in multiple depredations and removing him at that time while the female was denning and he was the sole source of food would likely have been fatal to the pups and counter to the restoration mandate. The situation was resolved through a unique wildlife capture operation conducted by our dedicated staff and partners,” said Davis.
The most notable addition to the plan going forward is a revamped Range Rider program and the addition of dedicated conflict reduction employees.
CPW and the Colorado Department of Agriculture have increased conflict reduction specialist staff over the past year: CPW brought on five wildlife damage specialists and is recruiting for five more in December. These positions are currently based out of each CPW region and are in addition to the wolf conflict coordinator position.
This past summer, CDA hired a non-lethal conflict reduction program manager. Two CDA non-lethal mitigation specialists started working this month. These people will work to connect producers to available resources, including equipment, site assessments, and compensation claim submissions.
Range Riders
Range riders are just that: Horseback riders who patrol open livestock ranges, looking for predators. The job requires working closely with livestock producers as well having a strong knowledge of animal husbandry and stockmanship.
Contractors for the Colorado Range Riding program will be hired for the high season on the range, which lasts approximately five months, from mid-April to October. Livestock producers, farm and ranch managers, and other individuals interested in a range rider contract position can file a Range Rider Program Interest Form.
Site Assessments
Site assessments are used to identify the most appropriate and effective non-lethal tools and techniques specific to individual operations. Site assessments are free and are conducted by staff from CPW, CDA, USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services, and USDA NRCS, in collaboration with the livestock producer and landowner. CPW has recently updated and formalized the site assessment process for 2025. CPW strongly encourages producers to enroll in voluntary site assessments by calling an Area CPW Office or local CPW officer.
Depredation Response
CPW has developed criteria for different levels of response for field staff to use when addressing wolf conflict and depredations, either proactively or reactively. The level will be site-specific and based on staff’s professional assessment, cooperation from the livestock producer, and evaluation of a site assessment.
Further details about the levels of response will be included in the CPW Wolf-Livestock Conflict Minimization Program Guide, to be published in December.
Carcass Management
CDA and CPW have worked with neighboring states to understand best practices for carcass management in wolf country. A list of best practice recommendations compiled from lessons learned in other states can be found here.
Grant Program
Grants of up to $20,000 that provide support to multiple producers to assist in implementing non-lethal anti-wolf measures, are available through CDA and CPW. Grant funds can be used to prepare, educate, and coordinate with producers to implement non-lethal conflict reduction measures and directly implement measures such as range riding and carcass disposal.
Communications and Training
CDA, CPW, USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services and CSU Extension will continue to host educational workshops across the Western Slope. The final meeting of the year will be held on
Thursday, Dec. 19, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Aspen. Register for that meeting here. Find information from previous meetings and workshops here.
Publications
CPW will publish a Wolf-Livestock Conflict Minimization Program Guide in December to provide producers a full list of all conflict minimization tools, methods, state staff support available including contact information, and funding sources. The guide will also describe CPW’s depredation investigation process, compensation program and lethal management criteria, including the definition of Chronic Depredation.