Colorado Parks and Wildlife

June 11 CPW meeting highlights failure to share data: “Producers left in the dark”

The Fence Post, Approved, State / / , , , , , ,

Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commissioner Tai Jacober said it’s “ugly” right now for Pitkin County livestock producers.

In the June 11 CPW Commission meeting, he said when a particular pack of wolves, the Copper Creek pack, were causing problems for livestock producers, CPW and the commission made decisions that have landed the wolves and the producers again, in a problematic situation. Jacober criticized the decision to go “against the management plan and capture the wolves, went further against the management plan and rereleased the wolves, and here we are today.”

“Not only is it a blunder on the agency, it’s a blunder on the wolves, and it’s really difficult on the ranchers,” he said. “It seems we’ve removed one wolf — a yearling wolf that was kicked out of the pack, trying to survive — and I think we need to be accountable for a mistake that we made, putting this depredating pack back on the landscape and make a quick, fast discussion about how to move forward with clearly, unfortunately a bad pack of animals.”

June 11 CPW meeting highlights failure to share data: “Producers left in the dark” Read More »

Wolf claims top $650K, but CPW records don’t add up

Colorado Politics, Approved, State / / , , ,

The state wolf compensation fund, set at $350,000 by statute last year, saw claims from 2024 that are approaching double that amount.

Data obtained through an open records request to Colorado Parks and Wildlife showed that the agency paid out $425,478.61 in claims.

But the information provided by the agency appears to exclude claims that were denied, recent claims paid and claims still awaiting final payments or settlements.

Wolf claims top $650K, but CPW records don’t add up Read More »

Multiple wolf attacks hit Western Slope ranchers—CPW accused of broken promises

The Colorado Sun, Approved, Local / / , , , , , , ,

Ranchers are calling multiple wolf attacks on cattle over Memorial Day weekend in Pitkin County “devastating” and evidence Colorado Parks and Wildlife is failing to keep its promise to alert ranchers when wolves are in range of their livestock.  

The attacks occurred over three days on the Crystal River Ranch, in the Crystal River Valley, and on the Lost Marbles and McCabe ranches, in the Roaring Fork Valley.

Multiple wolf attacks hit Western Slope ranchers—CPW accused of broken promises Read More »

Activism over science? Proposed ballot measure #82 would gut CPW authority, opponents say

Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, State, Top Stories / / , , , , , , , ,

Critics across Colorado’s hunting, ranching, and wildlife management communities are sounding the alarm over a 2026 ballot measure they say could upend science-based conservation and rural land rights.

Initiative #82, called the Colorado Wildlife and Biodiversity Protection Act, would create a new regulatory body, the Wildlife and Ecosystem Conservation Commission (WECC). The commission would hold far-reaching powers over endangered species protections, wildlife corridors, land use, and even Colorado Parks and Wildlife itself.

Activism over science? Proposed ballot measure #82 would gut CPW authority, opponents say Read More »

From guns to gray wolves: 9 new laws reshape CPW’s future

Summit Daily, Approved, State / / , , , , , , , , , , ,

Over 120 days, Colorado lawmakers introduced over 650 bills in the 2025 legislative session.

Among those that passed were several that will have implications for Colorado Parks and Wildlife as it tackles illegal wildlife traffic, manages hunting and sport shooting activities, continues the voter-mandated reintroduction of gray wolves and more.

From guns to gray wolves: 9 new laws reshape CPW’s future Read More »

Tracking collar signals death of female wolf in northwest Colorado, marks fourth this year

Aspen Times, Approved, State / / , , ,

One of Colorado’s reintroduced wolves died on Thursday, May 15, in the state’s northwest region. 

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials confirmed on Friday that they received a mortality alert on the female wolf’s collar on Thursday. The agency provided no additional details on the incident or the cause of death.

Tracking collar signals death of female wolf in northwest Colorado, marks fourth this year Read More »

CPW tracks four suspected wolf dens, ranchers brace for more uncertainty

Post Independent, Approved, State / / , , , ,

For wolves, the beginning of May signals the end of denning season. 

While Colorado Parks and Wildlife is tracking up to four pairs of wolves that could be denning, none have been confirmed, according to Eric Odell, the agency’s wolf conservation program manager.

“We are monitoring one to three to four pairs of animals that could be denning,” Odell said at the May 7 meeting for the agency’s commission. 

The agency is “sussing out” these potential dens using data from the GPS collars that the majority of Colorado’s wolves are wearing.

CPW tracks four suspected wolf dens, ranchers brace for more uncertainty Read More »

Colorado’s wolf plan ignores the one thing wolves don’t: borders

The Fence Post, Approved, National, State / / , , , , ,

Over the last month, two of Colorado’s latest gray wolf transplants were killed after crossing the border into Wyoming. 

Colorado Parks and Wildlife expects these types of movements into other states from the reintroduced wolf population. The species is known for traveling long distances in search of food or mates. 

However, once the wolves leave Colorado, they lose certain protections afforded to them by both state and federal laws. But just how those protections change, and what might happen to them, depends entirely on which way they travel.

Colorado’s wolf plan ignores the one thing wolves don’t: borders Read More »