Colorado officials relent to rancher pressure to remove pack formed by released wolves

Colorado’s only wolf pack produced by released wolves is being removed from its Grand County location.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife along with technical support from federal partners have begun an operation to capture and relocate wolves from the Copper Creek pack, the state wildlife agency announced in a Tuesday night news release.

The pack consists of two parents from among 10 wolves captured in Oregon and released in Colorado in late December of 2023 and at least three wolf pups the pair had this spring. “The decision to capture and relocate the Copper Creek pack was made with the careful consideration of multiple factors and feedback from many different stakeholders,” Colorado Parks and Wildlife Director Jeff Davis stated in the news release. “Our options in this unique case were very limited, and this action is by no means a precedent for how CPW will resolve wolf-livestock conflict moving forward. The ultimate goal of the operation is to relocate the pack to another location while we assess our best options for them to continue to contribute to the successful restoration of wolves in Colorado.”

The option to remove the wolves is allowed under the federal 10(j) rule issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which designates Colorado’s released wolves as an experimental population.

The parents of the pack have largely been responsible for 16 confirmed wolf depredations of cattle and sheep near the pack’s den and rendezvous sites in Grand County since April 2, according to area ranchers.

The Middle Park Stockgrowers Association, which represents Grand County ranchers, has repeatedly asked the state wildlife agency to remove at least the parents of the pack over the past several months, and later the pups as well. The latest request from the association and other stockgrowers groups was sent to Gov. Jared Polis and Colorado Parks and Wildlife Director Jeff Davis on Aug. 15.

The agency has repeatedly refused the request, citing the need to grow the state’s wolf population in accordance to the state’s wolf recovery plan before finally relenting to ranchers’ pressure Tuesday.

That state’s recovery plan calls for releasing 30 to 50 wolves over the next three to five years with a goal of a minimum of 150 to 200 wolves.

“Colorado Parks and Wildlife is committed to fulfilling the will of Colorado voters to successfully restore the gray wolf population while meeting the needs of Colorado communities,” the release read. “As we have throughout the implementation of the Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan, CPW is working with wildlife biologists, federal partners and producers to develop solutions that will reduce the risk of additional wolf depredations.”

Tim Ritschard, a Grand County rancher and president of the Middle Park Stockgrowers Association, said the association is pleased with the decision.

“If a wolf wanders in and kills a cow or calf, that’s tolerable, “Ritschard told the Coloradoan on Tuesday night. “When they set up camp and repeatedly depredate on livestock that’s where the problem is.

“I’m glad the feds stepped in and took action before a rancher or local Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff had to. Hopefully CPW can learn from this and prevent something similar happening in the future.”

The Coloradoan reached out to pro wolf groups for comment. Those messages were not immediately returned.

Ritschard questioned what the state wildlife agency will do with the wolves.

That was not detailed in the agency’s news release.

“For the safety of these animals and staff, CPW will not be sharing the location of the pack members or operation,” the agency’s news release read. “CPW will provide more information and details at the conclusion of the operation.”

The news of the pack removal comes days after the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission was told by Colorado Parks and Wildlife the next planned wolf release would occur in the the same general area as the first releases in Grand and Summit counties.

Reid DeWalt, Colorado Parks and Wildlife assistant director, told the commissioners at their Friday meeting in Colorado Springs that the next release will take place in the northern zone.

The northern zone roughly encompasses from Glenwood Springs on the west, Kremmling on the north, Vail on the east and Aspen on the south. The area includes Interstate 70 running through the middle.

First, though, Colorado Parks and Wildlife has to secure wolves for its next release planned for late this year or early next year. Something which has been difficult to do.

That sourcing was made more difficult after the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington notified Colorado Parks and Wildlife in a June letter that it was rescinding an earlier agreement to send 15 wolves to Colorado later this year and in early 2025.