Wolf reintroduction - Rocky Mountain Voice

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

The Fence Post, Approved, State / June 12, 2025 / Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Colorado Ranchers, Copper Creek Pack, Livestock Depredation, Pitkin County, Wildlife Policy, Wolf reintroduction

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 »

McCombie: Initiative 82 revives push to restrict hunting, override expert conservation

NRA Hunters' Leadership Forum, Approved, Commentary, State / June 6, 2025 / Animal Rights Activism, Ballot Initiative 82, Colorado Wildlife & Biodiversity Protection Act, Hunting Rights, Keystone Species, Livestock Losses, Wildlife Management, Wolf reintroduction

Colorado anti-hunters are making yet another push to wrest control of that state’s wildlife from wildlife professionals. This time, it is the recently proposed Ballot Initiative 82, the “Colorado Wildlife & Biodiversity Protection Act.”

At its core, Initiative 82 would create an independent commission parallel to the current Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission. This independent commission would then draw up legal protections for unnamed “keystone species” and assess financial penalties for any violations of these protections.

McCombie: Initiative 82 revives push to restrict hunting, override expert conservation Read More »

Sixth wolf death of 2025 confirmed—CPW says ‘wolf population will continue to grow’

DENVER7, Approved, State / June 3, 2025 / CPW, Endangered Species Act, Government overreach, Livestock Depredation, Rural Concerns, USFWS, Wolf Mortality, Wolf reintroduction, Wolves

Another gray wolf that was brought to Colorado as part of the state’s reintroduction program has died, Colorado and federal officials said on Monday afternoon.

In a press release on Monday, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) said they received a mortality alert for a male wolf in northwest Colorado on May 31. The wolf had been brought to Colorado from Canada as part of the January 2025 reintroduction, CPW confirmed to Denver7. It is the fifth wolf from the original 15 released that month that has died.

Sixth wolf death of 2025 confirmed—CPW says ‘wolf population will continue to grow’ Read More »

CPW exterminates ‘Wolf 2405’ after four attacks in eight days killing livestock in Pitkin County

DENVER7, Approved, Local, State / May 31, 2025 / Chronic Depredation, Colorado Ranchers, CPW, Pitkin County, Wolf reintroduction

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials have killed a gray wolf that was believed to be involved in a series of attacks that killed two livestock calves and injured three more calves and one cow in Pitkin County.

The series of attacks meets the agency’s criteria for “chronic depredation” that it finalized in January: three or more depredation events caused by the same wolf or wolves within a 30-day period, with “clear and convincing evidence” of at least one of the attacks.

CPW exterminates ‘Wolf 2405’ after four attacks in eight days killing livestock in Pitkin County Read More »

Gaines: Polis’ picks for land board proves Colorado’s gone to the wolves

Commentary, Approved, State, Substack / May 23, 2025 / 75th Colorado Legislature, Environmental Policy, Governor Jared Polis, SB25-242, State Land Board, TABOR, Taxpayer Rights, Wolf reintroduction

I wrote about Polis advisor Nicole Rosmarino being the sole finalist for the directorship of the State Land Board recently. That newsletter is linked first below if you want or need context.

On the heels of that newsletter, I got a message from a reader alerting me to the other two appointments that Governor Polis made to the State Land Board–this is the same board mind you that makes decisions on grazing leases, mineral-extraction (oil/gas) leases, and provides revenue to schools–Mark Harvey from Pitkin County and James Pribyl from Louisville. Harvey was appointed to fill the agriculture seat on the board and Pribyl the citizen-at-large seat.

If the name Pribyl sounds familiar, you’re not alone. He was a former member of the CPW Commissioners (see the picture heading this post whose text was taken from Pribyl’s Linked In account), a wolf reintroduction advocate, and one of the three co-authors of the op ed in support of Prop 127, the big cat hunting ban.**

Gaines: Polis’ picks for land board proves Colorado’s gone to the wolves Read More »

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

Summit Daily, Approved, State / May 20, 2025 / 75th Colorado Legislature, Bison Protection, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Conservation Programs, Gun Safety Laws, Hunter Rights, Livestock Conflicts, Rural Land Use, Second Amendment, State Wildlife Policy, Tribal Land Access, Wolf reintroduction

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 / May 18, 2025 / Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Predator Management, Wolf reintroduction, Wolves

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 »

Wolves roam, pups are born, riders deployed—but land-use plans still stuck in 2023

Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, State, Top Stories / May 13, 2025 / Colorado Ranchers, CPW, General Management Plan, Land and Resource Management Plan, NEPA, Range Riders, Resource Management Plan, Wolf Depredation, Wolf reintroduction, Wolves

Wolves are roaming, ranchers are riding – but the rulebook hasn’t changed. Wolves are traveling farther, forming dens and producing pups. Many have turned up dead—especially in Wyoming, where wolves that prey on livestock can be killed on sight under state law.

Yet not one federal or state land-use plan in Colorado has been updated since gray wolf reintroduction began in December 2023.

That’s the backdrop for Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s May 13 press release announcing that its Range Rider Program is fully operational and patrolling western Colorado.

Eleven contracted riders hired by CPW have joined two staff from the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) to monitor livestock, haze predators and report signs of wolf-livestock conflict across nine counties.

Wolves roam, pups are born, riders deployed—but land-use plans still stuck in 2023 Read More »

Wolf reintroduction strains rural Colorado as payouts outpace budget

Westword, Approved, State / May 13, 2025 / Ballot-box Biology, Colorado Ranchers, CPW, Western Slope, Wolf Depredation, Wolf reintroduction

Colorado is eighteen months into the state’s wolf restoration project, and the teeth are still coming out.

So far, the state has paid over $370,000 in claims to ranchers who have been impacted by the presence of wolves near their operations. Although wolf advocates and detractors both agree that Colorado should compensate people for wolf-related losses, ranchers believe the funds are not enough to cover the full breadth of the impact of the carnivores in this state. Conversely, wildlife advocates question if some of the reimbursements that ranchers have claimed are a good use of taxpayer money.

Wolf reintroduction strains rural Colorado as payouts outpace budget Read More »

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

Post Independent, Approved, State / May 8, 2025 / Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Colorado Ranchers, Livestock protection, Wolf reintroduction, Wolves

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 »