Colorado cattle organizations rip governor, wildlife agency following wolf kills

Four Colorado cattle organizations sent a letter Thursday to Gov. Jared Polis and Colorado Parks and Wildlife Director Jeff Davis imploring the two to put a stop to the wolf depredations that have been plaguing ranchers in recent months.

The Colorado Cattlemen’s Association, the state's largest livestock organization, along with the Middle Park Stockgrowers Association, North Park Stockgrowers Association and Routt County Cattlemen’s Association addressed a myriad of concerns in the letter regarding what they called a lack of implementation of the state's wolf recovery plan.

The focus of the lengthy letter called for the lethal removal of the two released wolves that had at least one pup this spring and were named the Copper Creek Pack in Grand County.

"The depredations in the areas encompassed by these local organizations, as well as the recent denial of a Middle Park Stockgrowers’ application for a Chronic Depredation Permit, underscores broader systemic issues that we believe jeopardizes not only the livelihood of livestock producers but also the long-term viability of a balanced wolf-livestock management strategy in our state," the letter read.

The Coloradoan asked Colorado Parks and Wildlife for a response to the letter at 12:25 p.m. Thursday. A response was not provided by the time this story published Thursday afternoon.

A statement written by Davis of CPW was finally provided Friday morning by spokesperson Joey Livingston. Requests for an interview with the director have not been granted.

“We’re working hard to resolve wolf-livestock conflicts and focusing even more on education and non-lethal management techniques to support ranchers," a portion of Davis' statement read. "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.”

The letter sent by the cattle organizations said Colorado Parks and Wildlife's recent denial of a lethal take permit despite documented and increasingly common depredations, "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."

Colorado Parks and Wildlife has confirmed 24 cattle and sheep have been killed by wolves since April 2 , including the most recent depredations of eight sheep July 28 in Grand County . Those 24 depredations have occurred in Grand, Jackson and Routt counties.

The letter points out the depredation number does not include undocumented losses of missing livestock and other suspected deaths by ranchers that "CPW was incapable or unwilling to deem a depredation earlier in the year.''

"CPW has confirmed that many of the confirmed depredations were caused by just two of the approximately 12 gray wolves located in Colorado," the letter stated.

One of the wolves captured in Oregon and released in Colorado in late December was killed by a mountain lion. The state wildlife agency collared 12 known wolves in the state. Two of those collars are no longer working, according to the agency.

The state wildlife agency previously confirmed to the Coloradoan one of the collars not working is wolf 2309.

Grand County Ranchers told the Coloradoan previously they have identified through game camera videos and images, tracks, numerous sightings over several months and locations of where wolves were released that 2309 is the breeding male of the Copper Creek Pack and the one they claim is the primary killer of livestock in the area near the den.

Wolf 2309 is an adult male that was part of the Weneha Pack in Oregon. That pack had two confirmed livestock depredations in October and September of 2023 in Oregon , just months before the December release in Colorado.

They also said they identified through numerous sightings the breeding female of the Copper Creek Pack as wolf 2312 and told the Coloradoan they believe her to be another primary killer of livestock in the area.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife has a policy of not publicly identifying individual wolf collar numbers for the safety of the wolves and has not confirmed 2309 and 2312 as the breeding pair or primary killers of livestock in Grand County.

The cattle organizations have repeatedly asked Davis to remove those two wolves. Davis has refused, citing it would harm the ability to grow the state's wolf population as outlined in the state recovery plan to a minimum of 150 to 200 wolves over the next three to five years.

Thursday's letter said by comparison, in 2023, Montana with a wolf population of 1,096 had 32 livestock confirmed killed by wolves, only eight fewer than Colorado had with 12 known wolves.

"The obvious reason Montana has experienced fewer depredations-per-wolf is that Montana effectively manages its wolf population," the letter read. "In contrast, CPW has shown an alarming unwillingness to address wolf-livestock conflicts, creating a dangerous and unsustainable precedent. By refusing to manage problem wolves, CPW has allowed livestock depredations to continue unchecked, while at the same time fostering a pack of depredating wolves."

Tim Ritschard, Grand County rancher and president of the Middle Park Stockgrowers Association, told the Coloradoan on Thursday that the state wildlife agency continues to "move the goal posts" on ranchers, which complicates things for them.

"We want them to finally make a decision to remove those wolves," he said. "We are not reinventing the wheel; lethal removal of wolves has already been done in five states."

The letter stated the lethal take permit denial further erodes trust and cooperation between producers and wildlife managers, putting the long-term sustainability of Colorado’s ranching industry at risk.

"A more balanced, honest, and transparent strategy is needed — one that allows for lethal control when clearly justified, ensures that nonlethal measures are practical and effective in Colorado settings, and respects the rights of livestock producers. CPW’s chronic depredation permit decision must be reconsidered; a permit should be issued as soon as possible."

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado cattle organizations rip governor, wildlife agency following wolf kills