This month marks two years since the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission (CPWC) approved the Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan. A lot has happened since then in the struggle to return gray wolves to Colorado. Like it or not, 29 wolves have made this state their home.
In December 2023, 10 gray wolves from Oregon were released into Grand and Summit counties, increasing the state total to 12. Five pups were born in June, forming the Copper Creek pack. Three collared wolves died in the state in 2024, including the father of the Copper Creek pups from a gunshot wound. Collared wolves took at least 30 livestock in 2024.
Livestock producers in January this year unsuccessfully petitioned CPWC to pause wolf reintroduction, and 15 gray wolves were brought to Colorado from British Columbia. On Feb. 5, CPW received the first wolf predation claim of the year for $2,097 from a Jackson County rancher for the death of one cow. In early March, CPWC approved two claims, totalling $345,416. Three more confirmed wolf kills were reported in March, including one in Pitkin County.
A collared wolf was found dead in Rocky Mountain National Park this year. Two wandered into Wyoming, where wolves are hunted as trophy game, only to be shot for killing sheep.
At CPWC’s May meeting, Eric Odell, CPW wolf conservation program manager, reported that 24 of the 29 wolves in the state are collared. The agency is tracking up to four pairs that could be denning.
“When we have followed a couple of animals that are paired, male-female pairs, and then we lose contact with the female, potentially that means [she is] underground or she’s spent some time digging a den,” said Odell. Gray wolves have about a two-month gestation period and typically den in late April or early May.
Collared wolves have now moved throughout the state, according to the most recent wolf location map. Odell pointed to the large swath across the south. “This is the movement of one individual animal,” he explained. A female, translocated from British Columbia, has traveled close to 1,700 miles on her own since she was released. “That’s essentially walking from Denver to Washington, D.C.,” he said.
Range Rider Program catching on
CPW has contracted 11 range riders to serve nine counties in Northwest Colorado, including Garfield. The program is part of the agency’s effort to provide non-lethal conflict management tools to livestock producers. Range riders stay with the herds from April to October. Four riders were dispatched to Routt, Eagle and Rio Blanco counties this spring at the request of ranchers.
Brian Dreher is CPW’s assistant director for terrestrial wildlife. “We’ll work mostly nights to prevent highly localized wolves from coming in contact with nearby livestock,” he explained. “[Some] will be making landowner connections and riding in areas where wolves have been historically or have the potential to be in the near future.”
The range rider program is free to producers. The cost is covered by the Born to Be Wild License Plate Fund. “To date, over 16,000 plates have been distributed and raised approximately $819,000,” said Dreher. The agency estimates the range rider program will cost close to $500,000 this year, including a budget for materials, training and rider contracts. A producer’s guide to non-lethal conflict management methods is available at www.tinyurl.com/CPWNonLethal
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CD4) introduced the Pets and Livestock Protection Act in January to remove federal Endangered Species Act protections for wolves in the lower 48 states and prohibit judges from over-ruling the policy. But Odell said that Colorado wolves have another layer of protection. “If they do become federally delisted for any reason, they still remain state listed and the take of wolves outside of the few very precise kinds of circumstances remains illegal and not allowable,” he said.
More information about gray wolves and wolf management is available at the CPW website. The next CPWC meeting is scheduled for July in Grand Junction.