Livestock producers renew plea for state to kill wolves depredating ranches

DENVER (KDVR) — Some of Colorado’s livestock producers have renewed their plea to Colorado Parks and Wildlife: Kill the wolves in Grand and Jackson counties that have killed ranchers’ cattle.

Several groups wrote letters this week to CPW officials and Gov. Jared Polis asking that the known wolves depredating Colorado ranches be lethally removed. Depredations occur when a predator “plunders” or preys upon a farmer’s crop. In Grand and Jackson counties, wolves were depredating sheep and cattle.

Ranchers first asked for the wolves to be lethally removed in April. There were s ix depredation events recorded by CPW in April alone, involving four calves and four cattle. Two claims were received, and one was paid out: $1,514 for one calf killed by the reintroduced wolves. The funding provides farmers the “fair market value” of their crops when destroyed by a state-managed initiative.

The joint letter, sent Wednesday by the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association, the North Park Stockgrowers Association, the Middle Park Stockgrowers Association and the Routt County Cattlemen’s Association, highlighted what the groups called a “lack of balanced management” and “concerns over nonlethal measures and attractants.”

The letter particularly highlighted that the Middle Park Stockgrowers applied for a Chronic Depredation Permit to lethally remove two wolves in Middle Park that were identified as responsible for multiple depredations at nearby ranches. The groups said CPW “waited” to deny the permit until July 31. The group said the denial “highlights a troubling trend of prioritizing wolves over the legitimate needs and rights of livestock producers.”

“The protections of depredating apex predators should not come at the expense of livestock producers who have demonstrated a clear and ongoing threat to their livestock and livelihood,” the groups wrote.

Tim Ritschard, president of the Middle Park Stockgrowers Association, spoke to FOX31’s Nate Belt about the strained relationship between CPW and ranchers.

“It’s getting to the point where it is, most people it’s past that point of having that relationship anymore with them,” Ritschard said. He also noted CPW’s desire to continue non-lethal measures has pushed ranchers to a breaking point. “Obviously we’re to that point because we have done all the non-lethal everything and it just keeps getting pushed.”

The groups also said that a recent depredation event resulted in 15 sheep going missing, with eight confirmed to be dead by wolf depredation. The group noted this brings the total number of confirmed depredations to 24 and said Montana has “70x the number of wolves as Colorado and had just eight more livestock losses in all of 2023 than Colorado has confirmed in the first seven months of 2024.”

CPW Director Jeff Davis responded to the groups in a statement that was also provided to FOX31.

“I will again stress CPW’s full commitment to working collaboratively with all agricultural stakeholders in Colorado through all phases of the voter-approved wolf restoration effort. This is a top priority for CPW and we continue to work with ranchers to provide funding, resources, range riders and staff. We’re working hard to resolve wolf-livestock conflicts and focusing even more on education and non-lethal management techniques to support ranchers. We’ve created the ad hoc wolf working group. The group provides an invaluable forum for diverse stakeholders to come together in a cooperative, face-to-face manner to help us achieve positive outcomes for all in Colorado’s wolf restoration. CPW is working on all fronts and taking a necessary and adaptive approach to implementing the state’s Wolf Restoration and Management Plan and to implement state statute.”

CPW Director Jeff Davis

CPW is currently tracking 11 wolves in the state.

The livestock producers also noted their concerns about how realistic CPW is regarding nonlethal deterrents for wolves. The groups said part of CPW’s denial of the Chronic Depredation Permit was the failure of stockgrowers to promptly or effectively employ nonlethal measures.

“(T)his assertion mischaracterizes the facts, adds new requirements, and borders on a blithe dismissal of the extensive time and resources these ranches have invested in using nonlethal measures to protect their livestock. It feels like CPW keeps ‘moving the goal posts’ to justify decisions,” the Cattlemen’s letter read.

“The reality is that all nonlethal measures are not effective in Colorado, given the state’s unique terrain and land ownership patterns. Experience in Middle Park with nonlethal measures has shown that the two problem wolves are accustomed to humans and have learned that nonlethal measures do not harm them,” the letter continued.

The letter went on to say the state has broken promises and is telling producers to assume the risk and financial burden of deploying electrified fladry on their property. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, fladry is a line of brightly-colored flags, usually hung around pastures or other areas of livestock, to scare wolves away from livestock, at least temporarily.

The Cattlemen’s Association called for a revised approach to wolf management in the state, especially as the state prepares to bring more wolves in during the winter months.

“This issue goes beyond a single concern,” the group wrote in its letter to CPW. “Since the inception of the wolf reintroduction program, we have actively engaged and cooperated in good faith while also expressing our concerns throughout the process. However, our concerns have been consistently overlooked. If the current trajectory of wolf management persists, it will become increasingly difficult for us to continue our cooperation.”

Earlier this year, CPW stated it would not remove the wolves depredating in Grand and Jackson counties because state biologists believed there was a mated pair that was denning there. Since then, the state has confirmed at least one pup has been born and named the pack the “Copper Creek Pack.”

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