A coalition of 26 agriculture and livestock producers filed a formal petition with the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission to stop any more wolf releases until the state can “adequately address the conflicts between wolves and livestock producers.”
As of November 14, 2024, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) confirmed wolves killed 31 cows, 12 sheep, three dogs and one llama, a total that only includes animals that received physical trauma resulting in injury or death and not unconfirmed or missing livestock incidents.
According to a Colorado Cattlemen’s Association news release, “The petition asks the CPW Commission to adopt a rule that would pause further wolf introductions until specific wolf-livestock conflict mitigation strategies are fully funded, developed and implemented. The requested rule changes aim to ensure that CPW is equipped to manage wolf depredation and provide livestock producers with the necessary tools and resources before any wolves are put on the ground.”
Among other things, the petition calls on CPW to adopt a clear definition of “chronic depredation,” along with mandated lethal take requirements for wolves that consistently prey on livestock. CPW has yet to do so despite consistent requests from the livestock community.
A 2020 ballot initiative strongly opposed by livestock producers, county commissions, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and many other organizations and citizens, passed by less than two percent which mandated CPW to forcibly introduce wolves into Colorado.
Four states rejected Colorado’s request to acquire wolves before Oregon agreed. In late December 2023, CPW released five wolves into northern Colorado. Several days later, media outlets reported three of those five wolves killed livestock in Oregon earlier that year. CPW previously said it would not trap and relocate wolves with a known livestock depredation history. About three months later, reports indicated transplanted wolves killed cattle in Colorado.
In September 2024, and in response to increasing livestock depredations, CPW announced it captured members of the Copper Creek wolf pack and continues to hold the animals in captivity until it determines where to release them.
CPW also announced it would capture 15 wolves in British Columbia and relocate them in Colorado during the 2025 winter. It eliminated Rio Blanco County as a possible location after commissioners submitted a letter of opposition to CPW, which later confirmed the request “due to the limited number of state-owned sites that adhered to the criteria in the plan and their proximity to livestock, elevating the risk of conflict, as well as the potential impact to elk and deer herds recovering from the severe winter of 2022-23.”
(Photo credit: Colorado Parks and Wildlife)