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Rising Livestock Losses Put Colorado Wolf Management Under Scrutiny
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The Coloradoan, Approved, State

Rising Livestock Losses Put Colorado Wolf Management Under Scrutiny

By Miles Blumhardt | The Coloradoan Colorado wildlife officials have killed four wolves in the past three months, including two Sept. 7, and wildlife officers are reported to be attempting to kill another wolf after a rash of livestock depredations spread over multiple counties. The latest two lethal removals were of two uncollared wolves, one from the Copper Creek pack in Pitkin County and one from the Three Rivers pack in Rio Blanco County, according to a state wildlife agency news release Sept. 8. Colorado has seen depredations spike, with 21 confirmed depredations in August, 13 in July and 51 this year as of Sept. 6., according to the agency's depredation page. The previous depredation high was 37 in 2025. Colorado Parks and Wildlife estimates the state has a ...
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Boebert Welcomes Trump Wolf Review as Colorado Ranchers Face Continued Losses
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Boebert Welcomes Trump Wolf Review as Colorado Ranchers Face Continued Losses

By Marianne Goodland The Denver Gazette President Donald Trump has directed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to launch a 90-day review on whether gray wolves and Mexican wolves should be removed from Endangered Species Act protections. The order drew mixed reactions for Colorado’s wolf-reintroduction effort, with ranchers and some state leaders calling it a step toward more flexible management, while wolf advocates argue it strips away key safeguards. If Burgum determines delisting or downlisting is warranted, the order said states would be encouraged to remove gray wolves and Mexican wolves from their own protected species lists and to loosen lethal-control standards to help ranchers respond to predation. The order also says the Interior Secretary...
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Colorado Records 17th Wolf Death After Livestock Attacks
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Records 17th Wolf Death After Livestock Attacks

By: Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics   A yearling male wolf in Grand County has become the 17th wolf to die in Colorado in the past two years. Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced that its staff killed the wolf on Aug. 4 because it was believed to be responsible for killing four calves in Jackson and Grand counties between June 29 and Aug. 1. The state agency’s announcement said the producers had pursued nonlethal measures to minimize conflict with the wolf. Ranchers have told Colorado Politics that those minimization efforts are ineffective. The wolf killed on Tuesday is the second mortality in 10 days. Another wolf had been found dead in northwest Colorado, according to a CPW announcement, but no further details were made available. READ THE FUL...
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When Colorado’s water runs short what should come first: Food or fairways?
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GregWalcher.com, Approved, Commentary, State

When Colorado’s water runs short what should come first: Food or fairways?

By Greg Walcher | Commentary, GregWalcher.com I met a guy at a golf course recently who expressed grave concern about the health of the grass this summer, because of Colorado’s ongoing drought. We hadn’t met before and knew nothing of each other’s backgrounds. But he entertained me with a tirade about Colorado’s waste of water, especially for agriculture. He asserted that 85 percent of Colorado’s precious water is used to raise livestock and feed for livestock, an outrage when there is so little for watering the greens and fairways. I was tempted to ask the man if he is a vegetarian, but I didn’t because I already knew the answer. Of course he is not a vegetarian; he is one of those activists who wants everyone else to change their lifestyles. The kind who want everyone else to r...
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New Wolf Pack Confirmed in Eagle County as Colorado Monitors Population Growth
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Colorado Politics, Approved, Local

New Wolf Pack Confirmed in Eagle County as Colorado Monitors Population Growth

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics A new gray wolf pack has formed in Eagle County, Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced on Wednesday. Known as the Piney Ridge Pack, it is the fourth pack of gray wolves in the state to have produced pups this year. According to CPW, the average litter size for wolves is four to six pups. More information about the packs will be included in the agency’s annual report next spring. “Detection of pups in late spring or early summer is inherently challenging, because of their use of remote habitats in dense cover, secretive nature of very young animals and time potentially underground,” said CPW’s Wolf Conservation Program Manager Eric Odell. “We are continuing to monitor the four reproducing packs in Colorado and will include...
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CPW Kills Wolf Linked To Dozens Of Sheep Deaths In Northwest Colorado
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Approved, State, The Denver Gazette

CPW Kills Wolf Linked To Dozens Of Sheep Deaths In Northwest Colorado

By: Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette Wildlife officers shot and killed a wolf believed to be responsible for killing at least 22 sheep over the past year in a remote northwestern county, according to a state agency. The animal came from the Copper Creek pack and is the 15th wolf to die in Colorado in the past two years. It’s also the second wolf from the Copper Creek pack to be shot by Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff due to chronic depredation of livestock. Wildlife staff had been hunting for the wolf since last year and, at one point, believed they had shot it, but the animal survived and disappeared. In a statement, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said that “visual evidence obtained at the scene confirmed the removed wolf is the same one that was depredati...
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Polis Adds Big Game Hunters and Agricultural Leaders to Colorado Wildlife Commission
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Sky-Hi News, Approved, State

Polis Adds Big Game Hunters and Agricultural Leaders to Colorado Wildlife Commission

By Ali Longwell | Sky-Hi News After Colorado Senators raised concerns with Gov. Jared Polis’ previous nominations for the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission, the governor has named three new appointees to the volunteer board tasked with guiding the state agency’s policies and regulations.  Polis announced the three appointments — in addition to reappointments for current commissioners, Gabriel Otero and Richard Reading — on Wednesday, June 3.  This included Dr. Peter Maguire, a veterinary neurologist in Grand Junction; Rebecca Niemiec, a tenured associate professor at Colorado State University’s Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources in Fort Collins; and Johnny Le Coq, who owns and lives on a ranch north of Silverthorne.  One of t...
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Colorado Officials Push For Emergency Drought Declaration As Conditions Worsen
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Colorado Officials Push For Emergency Drought Declaration As Conditions Worsen

By: Shannon Mullane | The Colorado Sun Shifting into the next phase of the state’s emergency drought response plan could unlock more resources and funding. WINTER PARK — Members of the Colorado Drought Task Force want Gov. Jared Polis to issue an emergency proclamation to unlock more help, potentially from state coffers, in face of worrisome drought conditions.  After a historically bad winter that ended a month early, Colorado is already feeling the impacts — whether that’s financial strain, tough business decisions or an overstressed environment. As part of the state’s response, the task force recommended Monday moving into the highest level, phase three, of the state’s drought response plan. The move could allow the state to tap more resources or seek a presi...
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Colorado Ranch Hand Reportedly Shoots Wolf While Protecting Calves
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Approved, State, The Coloradoan

Colorado Ranch Hand Reportedly Shoots Wolf While Protecting Calves

By: Miles Blumhardt | The Coloradoan A ranch owner says her ranch hand shot and killed the King Mountain wolf pack mother, the Coloradoan has confirmed. The death will test the state's laws protecting the endangered predator, which only allows for the legal killing of wolves under certain situations. Ranch owner Susan Nottingham first confirmed the killing of the wolf to the Coloradoan in an interview June 1. The wolf was killed March 10 on the Nottingham Ranch, which spans 20,000 acres in northern Eagle and southern Routt counties. Colorado Parks and Wildlife, in consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is leading an investigation into the wolf death and has not yet released details of the case. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT THE COLORADOAN
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Ranchers Turn Frustration Into Reform With New Anti Rustling Law
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Ranchers Turn Frustration Into Reform With New Anti Rustling Law

By: Michael Abeyta | CBS Colorado Colorado's most valuable single goods export is beef. That means ranching is a big part of our economy, but when an animal goes missing the process of reporting that info used to be a little outdated. Until recently. Two ranchers, Nicole and C.W. Mallery, changed the way missing animals are handled in the state. Nicole Mallery says she knows exactly how difficult ranching can be sometimes. She and her husband C.W. own Freedom Acres Ranch in eastern El Paso County. They raise all sorts of animals, but cattle are a big moneymaker for them. So, they hate to lose one of them, especially to theft. "Last year we had 15 cattle come up missing. This year already, we've had four cattle come up missing," said Mallery. "It becomes very traumatic....
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