Wolf reintroduction - Rocky Mountain Voice

Gaines: Polis’ picks for land board proves Colorado’s gone to the wolves

Commentary, Approved, State, Substack / May 23, 2025 / 75th Colorado Legislature, Environmental Policy, Governor Jared Polis, SB25-242, State Land Board, TABOR, Taxpayer Rights, Wolf reintroduction

I wrote about Polis advisor Nicole Rosmarino being the sole finalist for the directorship of the State Land Board recently. That newsletter is linked first below if you want or need context.

On the heels of that newsletter, I got a message from a reader alerting me to the other two appointments that Governor Polis made to the State Land Board–this is the same board mind you that makes decisions on grazing leases, mineral-extraction (oil/gas) leases, and provides revenue to schools–Mark Harvey from Pitkin County and James Pribyl from Louisville. Harvey was appointed to fill the agriculture seat on the board and Pribyl the citizen-at-large seat.

If the name Pribyl sounds familiar, you’re not alone. He was a former member of the CPW Commissioners (see the picture heading this post whose text was taken from Pribyl’s Linked In account), a wolf reintroduction advocate, and one of the three co-authors of the op ed in support of Prop 127, the big cat hunting ban.**

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From guns to gray wolves: 9 new laws reshape CPW’s future

Summit Daily, Approved, State / May 20, 2025 / 75th Colorado Legislature, Bison Protection, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Conservation Programs, Gun Safety Laws, Hunter Rights, Livestock Conflicts, Rural Land Use, Second Amendment, State Wildlife Policy, Tribal Land Access, Wolf reintroduction

Over 120 days, Colorado lawmakers introduced over 650 bills in the 2025 legislative session.

Among those that passed were several that will have implications for Colorado Parks and Wildlife as it tackles illegal wildlife traffic, manages hunting and sport shooting activities, continues the voter-mandated reintroduction of gray wolves and more.

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Tracking collar signals death of female wolf in northwest Colorado, marks fourth this year

Aspen Times, Approved, State / May 18, 2025 / Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Predator Management, Wolf reintroduction, Wolves

One of Colorado’s reintroduced wolves died on Thursday, May 15, in the state’s northwest region.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials confirmed on Friday that they received a mortality alert on the female wolf’s collar on Thursday. The agency provided no additional details on the incident or the cause of death.

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Wolves roam, pups are born, riders deployed—but land-use plans still stuck in 2023

Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, State, Top Stories / May 13, 2025 / Colorado Ranchers, CPW, General Management Plan, Land and Resource Management Plan, NEPA, Range Riders, Resource Management Plan, Wolf Depredation, Wolf reintroduction, Wolves

Wolves are roaming, ranchers are riding – but the rulebook hasn’t changed. Wolves are traveling farther, forming dens and producing pups. Many have turned up dead—especially in Wyoming, where wolves that prey on livestock can be killed on sight under state law.

Yet not one federal or state land-use plan in Colorado has been updated since gray wolf reintroduction began in December 2023.

That’s the backdrop for Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s May 13 press release announcing that its Range Rider Program is fully operational and patrolling western Colorado.

Eleven contracted riders hired by CPW have joined two staff from the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) to monitor livestock, haze predators and report signs of wolf-livestock conflict across nine counties.

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Wolf reintroduction strains rural Colorado as payouts outpace budget

Westword, Approved, State / May 13, 2025 / Ballot-box Biology, Colorado Ranchers, CPW, Western Slope, Wolf Depredation, Wolf reintroduction

Colorado is eighteen months into the state’s wolf restoration project, and the teeth are still coming out.

So far, the state has paid over $370,000 in claims to ranchers who have been impacted by the presence of wolves near their operations. Although wolf advocates and detractors both agree that Colorado should compensate people for wolf-related losses, ranchers believe the funds are not enough to cover the full breadth of the impact of the carnivores in this state. Conversely, wildlife advocates question if some of the reimbursements that ranchers have claimed are a good use of taxpayer money.

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CPW tracks four suspected wolf dens, ranchers brace for more uncertainty

Post Independent, Approved, State / May 8, 2025 / Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Colorado Ranchers, Livestock protection, Wolf reintroduction, Wolves

For wolves, the beginning of May signals the end of denning season.

While Colorado Parks and Wildlife is tracking up to four pairs of wolves that could be denning, none have been confirmed, according to Eric Odell, the agency’s wolf conservation program manager.

“We are monitoring one to three to four pairs of animals that could be denning,” Odell said at the May 7 meeting for the agency’s commission.

The agency is “sussing out” these potential dens using data from the GPS collars that the majority of Colorado’s wolves are wearing.

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