Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Wildlife Management

Colorado Activists Push Ban on Traditional Lead Ammunition for Hunters
Sportsmen’s Alliance, Approved, State

Colorado Activists Push Ban on Traditional Lead Ammunition for Hunters

By Sportsmen’s Alliance | Sportsmen’s Alliance Anti-hunting extremists—led by disgraced former Humane Society of the United States executive who was forced to resign amid sexual harassment allegations Wayne Pacelle—petitioned the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission (CPW) to ban hunting with traditional lead ammunition in the Centennial State. This move comes just months after they snuck an amendment into the federal Farm Bill that would have banned hunting with dogs—a move that Sportsmen’s Alliance defeated. Why are Activists Targeting Lead Ammunition and Tackle? Banning traditional lead ammunition has been the goal of these groups for some time. In 2010, several groups petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ban the manu...
CPW Kills Wolf Linked To Dozens Of Sheep Deaths In Northwest Colorado
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...
Wyoming Slashes Wolf Hunt As Disease Takes Toll On Packs
Colorado Politics, Approved, National

Wyoming Slashes Wolf Hunt As Disease Takes Toll On Packs

By The Associated Press | Colorado Politics WYOMING Wolf hunt cut in half Wyoming wildlife managers plan to reduce how many wolves can be hunted by 50% following a canine distemper outbreak that has cut the state’s wolf numbers to the lowest level in two decades. A 22-wolf cap is the fewest number of wolves available to licensed Wyoming hunters since the state began allowing wolf hunting after Endangered Species Act protections were lifted in 2012. The limit also marks a significant decrease from last fall’s wolf hunting season. Last year, hunters could target a maximum of 44 wolves in the area around the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, where Wyoming classifies wolves as trophy game during the Sept. 15-Dec. 31 season. Hunters bound to Wyoming’s relatively ...
Polis Adds Big Game Hunters and Agricultural Leaders to Colorado Wildlife Commission
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...
Colorado Pushes Constitutional Protection for Hunting and Fishing Traditions
All Outdoor, Approved, State

Colorado Pushes Constitutional Protection for Hunting and Fishing Traditions

By Keith Lusher | All Outdoor A campaign is underway to place a constitutional amendment before Colorado voters this November that would permanently protect the right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife in the state. Backers say the measure is urgently needed to shield long-standing traditions and the wildlife management system that funds them from shifting political winds. The T. Roosevelt Conservation Alliance announced the launch of Initiative 302, which would add a constitutional right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife across all species managed by the state. The initiative received unanimous approval from the state’s Title Board, and supporters have until August 28 to gather the required signatures to qualify for the ballot. The measure preserves the f...
Colorado Ranch Hand Reportedly Shoots Wolf While Protecting Calves
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
Copper Creek Wolves Drive Majority Of Colorado Livestock Losses
The Coloradoan, Approved, State

Copper Creek Wolves Drive Majority Of Colorado Livestock Losses

By Miles Blumhardt | The Coloradoan Beef, and mutton, are often what's for dinner for one Colorado wolfpack that has racked up a $700,000 tab, according to a review by the Coloradoan. The Copper Creek pack has been implicated in more than 60% of the state's confirmed depredations — 49 of 78 —since Colorado began reintroducing wolves in December 2023, a review of Colorado Parks and Wildlife's confirmed depredations records and ranchers' depredation claim filings shows. Those losses led to payouts by the state exceeding $700,000. That is greater than 40% of the total amount Colorado has paid for wolf depredations in that time. In total, the agency awarded ranchers more than $1.6 million in wolf depredation claims combined in 2024 and 2025. That's more than doub...
Feds Open Public Comment Period On Colorado Wolf Reintroduction
Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Feds Open Public Comment Period On Colorado Wolf Reintroduction

By Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado DENVER–The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is requesting public comment and information regarding Colorado’s gray wolf importation program. This request comes just months after the federal agency threatened to take over wolf management in Colorado due to ongoing problems. As previously reported by Complete Colorado, FWS sent an official warning to Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) management saying Colorado violated the terms of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) by releasing 15 wolves in January 2025 without informing citizens. FWS also criticized CPW’s management of the Copper Creek pack, which has a history of livestock depredation, and which cost Grand County ranchers alone $450,000 in losses. On April 4, FWS issued ...
Colorado Wolf Program Faces Scrutiny As Survival Rate Falls To 44 Percent
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Wolf Program Faces Scrutiny As Survival Rate Falls To 44 Percent

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The female wolf of the mating pair for the King Mountain pack has died, bringing total fatalities to 14 out of the 25 animals reintroduced in Colorado. The wolf, identified as No. 2310, was among the 10 wolves brought to Colorado from Oregon in December 2023. The male of the King Mountain pack mating pair had died in January in Routt County following a botched collaring operation conducted by a Colorado Parks and Wildllife contractor. That operation drew criticism from wolf advocates at the March 5 parks and wildlife commission meeting. Advocates claimed the effort was reckless and that the contractor hired was a “bargain basement contractor who had a history of deaths” in similar efforts. State wildlife authori...
Colorado Wolf Compensation Claims Top $700K In 2025 Far Exceeding State Fund
The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Wolf Compensation Claims Top $700K In 2025 Far Exceeding State Fund

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission approved more than $706,000 in wolf depredation claims for 2025 during its March meeting last week, an amount that exceeds the state’s annual wolf compensation fund by more than double. The commission also rejected another $53,611 in claims. But more claims are expected, based on comments from Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff in January.  Of the claims approved last week, $615,000 was listed on the commission’s consent agenda; another claim for $125,265 was split, with $91,170 approved for payment and the rest denied. There were several other claims recommended for denial by CPW staff, which the commission affirmed. A CPW official told a joint meeting of the House and Sena...

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