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Tag: Wolf reintroduction

CPW exterminates ‘Wolf 2405’ after four attacks in eight days killing livestock in Pitkin County
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Approved, DENVER7, Local, State

CPW exterminates ‘Wolf 2405’ after four attacks in eight days killing livestock in Pitkin County

By Landon Haaf | Denver7 The series of depredations occurred between May 17 and May 25. Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials have killed a gray wolf that was believed to be involved in a series of attacks that killed two livestock calves and injured three more calves and one cow in Pitkin County. The series of attacks meets the agency’s criteria for “chronic depredation” that it finalized in January: three or more depredation events caused by the same wolf or wolves within a 30-day period, with “clear and convincing evidence” of at least one of the attacks. The wolf apparently involved was gray wolf 2405, a member of the Copper Creek Pack – still the only confirmed wolf pack in Colorado since their reintroduction in 2023. The Copper Creek pack was relocated from Grand County l...
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Gaines: Polis’ picks for land board proves Colorado’s gone to the wolves
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Approved, Commentary, State, Substack

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

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project 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 ...
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From guns to gray wolves: 9 new laws reshape CPW’s future
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Approved, State, Summit Daily

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

By Ali Longwell | Summit Daily The state wildlife agency is tasked with implementing new legislation — some it asked for and some it did not 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. Senate Bill 2: How Colorado’s gun control bill will affect Parks and Wildlife One of the major bills this legislative session was a gun control bill measure that requires new training and background checks before individuals can purchase semi-automatic guns that accept detachable magazines. Parks ...
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Tracking collar signals death of female wolf in northwest Colorado, marks fourth this year
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Approved, Aspen Times, State

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

By Ali Longwell | Aspen Times 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.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will conduct the investigation and necropsy to determine what caused its death.   The wolf’s death marks the fourth death this year of the 15 animals that Parks and Wildlife brought from British Columbia in January.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE ASPEN TIMES
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Wolves roam, pups are born, riders deployed—but land-use plans still stuck in 2023
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

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

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice 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 ...
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Wolf reintroduction strains rural Colorado as payouts outpace budget
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Approved, State, Westword

Wolf reintroduction strains rural Colorado as payouts outpace budget

By Catie Cheshire | Westword 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. The wolf-related claims that made many wildlife advocates howl came on December 31 from three ranchers in Middle Park. The ranchers argued the state s...
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CPW tracks four suspected wolf dens, ranchers brace for more uncertainty
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Approved, Post Independent, State

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

By Ali Longwell | Post Independent 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.  “When we have followed a couple of animals that are paired, male-female pairs, and we lose contact with the female, potentially that means (she’s) underground, or she’s spent some time digging a...
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