There’s wolf movement in the Rio Grande Drainage. The newest activity map from Colorado Parks and Wildlife shows collared wolf movement throughout the San Luis Valley.
In April’s wolf activity map, a wolf was tracked into northern Saguache County. The new movement puts the wolf right in the center of the San Luis Valley. These movements were expected as wolves are a traveling species, or habitat generalists.
Earlier in May, Rio Grande County Administrator Skip Schoen said that a CPW representative contacted him and noted that a wolf was being tracked in the area, but there was nothing definitive yet. Now, with the newest data released to the public, it’s definitive.
“People are just anxious about it,” cattle rancher George Whitten told Gov. Jared Polis this week during a visit. “It’s one of those things that is something that is unknown and something that is new and you’ve got all this fear,” Whitten said. “But they’re here and we’re going to learn more, but that’s the new reality.”
Wolf movements are tracked by CPW. As wolves move throughout drainages the state agency’s field staff communicate with local ag producers, local government and law enforcement officials about the presence of wolves in their areas.
Whitten said, “Certainly how you handle your livestock at home has a lot to do with how susceptible they’re going to be when that wolf shows up. If you have cattle that are fearful and run away, then the wolf is going to pursue and chase. If they turn around and face the wolf, then the wolf is going to go find something else.”
“CPW will continue to collaborate on ways to minimize the risk of depredation,” Travis Duncan, CPW public information supervisor, said in an email to The Citizen. “Staff continues to perform site assessments and identify ways to effectively mitigate potential conflicts.”
Translocated wolves are exploring the Colorado landscape, with one female wolf from Canada covering more than 1200 miles. As wolf population numbers grow, CPW said, some wolves will migrate to establish new territories. Wolves are habitat generalists, which means they can thrive in a wide variety of environmental conditions and habitats. Typically, they will follow their prey through watersheds and drainages.
Part of this new movement shows wolf activity in the southwestern Colorado within the Southern Ute Indian Reservation. In August 2024, the Colville Tribe in Washington rescinded its offer to source wolves for Colorado after they had learned of a communication breakdown between the Southern Ute tribe and CPW. CPW kept this information from the public for nearly two months.
Because of this, CPW and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe created a memorandum of understanding that states the tribe, as a sovereign nation, has authority over managing wolves within the reservation, while CPW is responsible for management outside the reservation boundaries.
As long as prey is available and on the move “it is anticipated that wolves will expand their distribution throughout the state widely over time,” Duncan said.
CPW encourages anyone who believes they have seen a wolf to fill out the wolf sighting form found. In addition to the wolf sighting form, the public can also find information on living and recreating in areas where wolves live.
CPW confirmed another death in female wolf 2512-BC on May 15. The state agency said it would not release more information on the cause of death until U.S. Fish and Wildlife completes a necropsy. Results take a matter of weeks to come back.
CPW officials also noted that up to four groups of wolves may have established dens. They said it could take weeks to confirm if there are any pups in these newly established dens as they are most likely underground.