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Multiple wolf attacks hit Western Slope ranchers—CPW accused of broken promises
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Approved, Local, The Colorado Sun

Multiple wolf attacks hit Western Slope ranchers—CPW accused of broken promises

By Tracy Ross | Colorado Sun Three ranches near where wolves were released in January say Colorado Parks and Wildlife is not keeping its promise to let them know when the collared animals are near Ranchers are calling multiple wolf attacks on cattle over Memorial Day weekend in Pitkin County “devastating” and evidence Colorado Parks and Wildlife is failing to keep its promise to alert ranchers when wolves are in range of their livestock.   The attacks occurred over three days on the Crystal River Ranch, in the Crystal River Valley, and on the Lost Marbles and McCabe ranches, in the Roaring Fork Valley.  The first happened early Friday morning on the Crystal River Ranch, according to Tom Harrington, manager of the ranch and president of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association....
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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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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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Wolf dies in Rocky Mountain National Park, federal officials investigating
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Approved, kdvr.com, State

Wolf dies in Rocky Mountain National Park, federal officials investigating

By Heather Willard | Fox31 DENVER (KDVR) — A second gray wolf introduced to Colorado has died during April, this time inside the boundaries of Rocky Mountain National Park. Colorado Parks and Wildlife said that the female gray wolf’s GPS tracking collar issued a mortality alert on April 20. The wolf was one of the 15 released by CPW earlier this year, brought to the state from British Columbia, Canada. CPW and the National Park Service confirmed the wolf died inside the boundaries of RMNP, and said that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will conduct a necropsy and other investigative efforts because gray wolves are federally listed under the Endangered Species Act. In March, another one of the gray wolves brought to Colorado from Canada was shot and killed by Wildlife Ser...
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Colorado’s wolf plan ignores the one thing wolves don’t: borders
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Approved, National, State, The Fence Post

Colorado’s wolf plan ignores the one thing wolves don’t: borders

By Ali Longwell | The Fence Post Over the last month, two of Colorado’s latest gray wolf transplants were killed after crossing the border into Wyoming.  Colorado Parks and Wildlife expects these types of movements into other states from the reintroduced wolf population. The species is known for traveling long distances in search of food or mates.  However, once the wolves leave Colorado, they lose certain protections afforded to them by both state and federal laws. But just how those protections change, and what might happen to them, depends entirely on which way they travel. In Colorado, gray wolves are considered “state endangered” in addition to being listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act and as an experimental population under a ...
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CPW confirms second gray wolf reintroduced to Colorado dies in Wyoming
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Approved, DENVER7, State

CPW confirms second gray wolf reintroduced to Colorado dies in Wyoming

By Stephanie Butzer | Denver 7 DENVER — For the second time this year, a gray wolf that was translocated to Colorado from Canada as part of the second round of reintroductions has died in Wyoming. Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) sent a brief press release about the second death around 6:45 p.m. Friday, saying they had learned about the male wolf's death in Wyoming on April 9. The wolf was part of the 15 animals — which included seven males — that had been captured in British Columbia earlier this year and brought to Colorado. CPW coordinated with Wyoming Game and Fish to obtain the wolf's GPS collar. Wyoming state law prevents other details from being shared, CPW said. When the first translocated wolf died in Wyoming on March 16, a CPW spokesperson told De...
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Colorado’s gray wolves edge closer to Denver metro area: CPW map
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Approved, kdvr.com, State

Colorado’s gray wolves edge closer to Denver metro area: CPW map

By Jacob Factor | Fox 31 News DENVER (KDVR) — At least one of Colorado’s gray wolves in March entered a new Denver area county and new watersheds in northern Park County, some of the closest areas to the Denver metro they have been tracked since their initial reintroduction. Colorado Parks and Wildlife on Wednesday released a new map for collared wolf activity between Feb. 25 and March 25, showing wolf activity in Clear Creek County and in watersheds that extend into northern Park County toward the Jefferson County border.USDA confirms wolf relocated to Colorado killed by Wildlife Services in Wyoming CPW tracks the wolves based on watersheds they enter at some point in the month-long span, but they do not report exact locations within those watersheds. This map shows...
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Colorado ranchers and commissioners urge halt on wolf ballot measure, seek better management plan from state
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado ranchers and commissioners urge halt on wolf ballot measure, seek better management plan from state

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics While they might agree on the problem, a group of Western Slope county commissioners and agricultural groups are asking proponents of a ballot measure to repeal Proposition 114, which allowed the reintroduction of wolves in Colorado, to back off. A March 17 letter was sent to Patrick Davis, who heads Colorado Advocates for Smart Wolf Policy, which is supporting the repeal ballot measure. The signatories are county commissioners from Garfield, Grand, Mesa, Moffat, Montrose and Rio Blanco counties and four county-based wool growers associations. The letter indicates that ranchers and county officials opposed to the reintroduction program are willing to work within the system, utilizing the state's wolf management plan as a means of addressing...
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Colorado Joint Budget Committee addresses wolf reintroduction concerns with budget footnotes
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado Joint Budget Committee addresses wolf reintroduction concerns with budget footnotes

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics While agricultural organizations did not succeed in their efforts to halt the reintroduction of more wolves, they found a more sympathetic ear among policymakers at the state Capitol. In their work on "footnotes," which are directions to state departments on administering appropriations, the Joint Budget Committee adopted two items related to the wolf reintroduction program. Footnotes do not have the force of law, although state agencies comply. Even when the governor vetoes a footnote, usually due to a separation of powers issue, he often directs the agencies to comply anyway. The first said the annual $2.1 million general fund appropriation should be used to implement Proposition 114, the narrowly-adopted 2020 ballot measure that resulted...
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