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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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Wyoming Slashes Wolf Hunt As Disease Takes Toll On Packs
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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 ...
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Livestock Losses And Budget Overruns Fuel Federal Review of Colorado’s Wolf Program
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Livestock Losses And Budget Overruns Fuel Federal Review of Colorado’s Wolf Program

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Federal wildlife officials have opened a formal review of Colorado’s wolf reintroduction program, launching a public comment period to assess how the state has handled rising conflicts between wolves and livestock. A notice from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was published in the Federal Register on Monday, setting a June 5 deadline for the comments. The notice says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking information on how Colorado has implemented the federal 10(j) rule issued in 2023. It also explains that the agency signed a memorandum of understanding with Colorado Parks and Wildlife outlining goals, such as providing timely public updates on the restoration program, conducting outreach, and carrying out ...
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Colorado Wildlife Agency Seeks $450K More For Wolves Despite $1.5B State Budget Shortfall
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Wildlife Agency Seeks $450K More For Wolves Despite $1.5B State Budget Shortfall

Byline: By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The panel of legislators charged with crafting the budget on Monday rejected a proposal that proponents said would increase transparency around how much Colorado Parks and Wildlife spends to bring additional wolves into the state. At the same time, the wildlife agency is seeking $450,000 in general funds for fiscal year 2026–27 — twice what it spent in 2025 — to acquire more wolves, even though the agency has not identified where the animals would come from. The request arrives as the state faces a projected $1.5 billion shortfall in the general fund budget in next year’s spending plan. Joint Budget Committee staff had recommended creating a separate budget line beginning in 2026–27 to clearly show the state’s spe...
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Colorado Wolf Program Faces Scrutiny As Survival Rate Falls To 44 Percent
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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...
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Wolf Advocates Push Stricter Rules Before Wolves Can Be Killed For Livestock Attacks
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Wolf Advocates Push Stricter Rules Before Wolves Can Be Killed For Livestock Attacks

By: Tracy Ross | The Colorado Sun Wolf advocates want to make it harder to legally kill reintroduced wolves and ensure ranchers first exhaust a detailed list of nonlethal hazing methods. It’s the latest in a debate between animal protection groups and hunters that is coming to a head this spring in various venues.  The Center for Biological Diversity says Colorado Parks and Wildlife regulations don’t do enough to protect animals. Hunting groups want the status quo. The fight has already played out at the Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting last week when the center introduced a petition to ban the sale of commercial fur in Colorado. They’re also backing a bill to ban the killing of beavers on Colorado public lands.   The center said no...
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Wolf Claims to Exceed Annual State Allocation Topping One Million Dollars
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The Coloradoan, Approved, State

Wolf Claims to Exceed Annual State Allocation Topping One Million Dollars

By Miles Blumhardt | The Coloradoan More than $700,000 in wolf depredation claims by ranchers in 2025 have been recommended for approval by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, doubling the amount budgeted by the state. Six claims totaling $706,460.91 were listed among agenda items to be heard at the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting March 5 in Denver. Claims listed under the consent agenda can be removed for discussion at another meeting, approved or denied by vote of the commission, which has final say. The agenda also shows three claims totaling $53,611.71 that CPW is recommending be denied. The awarded claims are only a partial list of total claims statewide in 2025. Total compensation to ranchers for wolf depredations will exceed $1 million, an amount&...
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Colorado Confirms 14th Wolf Death Since Voter Mandated Reintroduction
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Confirms 14th Wolf Death Since Voter Mandated Reintroduction

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The 14th wolf to die in Colorado since their reintroduction about two years ago took place during a “collaring” operation in the northwestern region of the state last week. Colorado Parks and Wildlife said the wolf, identified as #2305 — meaning it was one of the original 10 animals that came from Oregon — died on Jan. 28 in Routt County. The wolf was the male of the breeding pair that produced the King Mountain pack last year. Of the original 10 wolves from Oregon, five have now died. Two yearlings from the Copper Creek pack, whose mating pair were from Oregon, also died. Another seven wolves from the original 15 of the British Columbia wolves have also died. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Copper Creek Wolves Linked to Another Livestock Killing in Gunnison County
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Copper Creek Wolves Linked to Another Livestock Killing in Gunnison County

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette A heifer found dead in eastern Gunnison County on Nov. 22 was killed by one of the yearlings from the Copper Creek wolf pack, according to a rancher, who did not want to be identified. It’s the fourth livestock death in November attributed to wolves. Two calves and a ewe were also killed by wolves in November in Routt, Pitkin and Rio Blanco counties, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The Copper Creek pack is believed to be responsible for numerous livestock deaths in Pitkin, Gunnison and Grand counties. One of the yearlings was killed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) staff in May in Pitkin County after a weekend of livestock killings; a second was shot by wildlife officers in Rio Blanco County in September after it killed si...
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Study Finds Wolves Cut Ranch Income Nearly 30 Percent
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American Farm Bureau, Approved, National

Study Finds Wolves Cut Ranch Income Nearly 30 Percent

By: Daniel Munch | American Farm Bureau While the expansion of gray and Mexican gray wolf populations is often hailed as a conservation success, the consequences for ranching families can be gruesome, costly and complex - threatening the safety of ranch families and their pets and livestock, as well as the long-term survival of multigenerational ranches and the rural economies they anchor. Focusing on the Mexican gray wolf, a recent University of Arizona study analyzes both direct livestock depredation and indirect effects such as stress-induced weight loss and elevated management costs based on 2024 cattle prices. Findings are based on survey responses from impacted ranchers, modeling of herd-level financial outcome and county-level livestock performance trends. In areas w...
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