Collared wolves remained in watersheds throughout Jackson County and northwest Larimer County from July 25 - August 25. Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s (CPW) monthly wolf location map shows wolves roaming in north-central Routt County, south and west of Steamboat Springs and south into eastern Rio Blanco and Garfield counties. Wolves remained mostly north of I70 in Eagle and Summit counties except for a strip straddling Highway 91, south to the Lake County line.
Of the ten gray wolves released in the state in late December 2023, one was detected in Rocky Mountain National Park in August - a first since 1915. One died in April presumably from a mountain lion attack. Two in Middle Park formed a family with at least three pups, dubbed the Copper Creek pack.
But now, just as the pack is getting used to its surroundings, CPW plans to move them, likely as a response to ranchers’ complaints of wolves killing livestock.
Carbondale-based Tom Harrington is the president of the Colorado Cattlemen's Association. He and other stockgrowers sent a letter to Gov. Jared Polis and CPW director Jeff Davis on August 14, asking the agency to take action against predating wolves. “We felt that it was proven that there was chronic depredation, which in the plan was agreed that there would be lethal removal of those that were chronically depredating, whether it be a pack or individual wolves,” he said. “[CPW has] acknowledged that there were two primary wolves in Middle Park that were causing most of that chronic depredation.”
Livestock predation occurred once between July 25 and August 25. According to CPW, eight sheep were killed in Grand County on July 28. Up until then, the number of animals taken by wolves at one time since December 31, 2023 was not more than one or two. No claim was submitted for the July 28 incident and it is still under investigation.
Harrington told KDNK that the Colorado Wolf Management and Restoration Plan, approved in May 2023, was not supposed to make ranchers change the way they manage herds. But, the emphasis now on non-lethal coexistence methods, he said, is doing just that. “In fact, it's kind of morphed into now that we were expected to just keep taking the next step with every non-lethal deterrent, whether it was fladry, electrified fladry, propane cannons, Fox lights, range riders, you know, each step just kind of moved up the ladder and each one just seemed to not work for very long, if at all,” he explained.
But, not all ranchers are using non-lethal methods. In May, the Middle Park Stockgrowers Association asked CPW for a permit to kill the predating wolves. The agency denied the permit in July. Results of a Defenders of Wildlife records request show that the agency refused the permit because the ranchers had not used coexistence methods in a timely manner.
Now CPW is moving the Copper Creek pack, contrary to the agency’s own Wolf Management and Restoration Plan, which states “The translocation of depredating wolves to a different part of the state will not be considered, as this is viewed as translocating the problem along with the wolves.”
But, the US Fish and Wildlife’s 10J Rule that went into effect in early December, 2023, allows for relocation if wolves are killing livestock. CPW would not provide details to KDNK or answer questions about the move.
Delia Malone is president of Colorado Wild and Wildlife Chair for the Colorado Sierra Club. She said the translocation of the Copper Creek pack is tragic. “The blame for this situation lies 100 percent with the ranchers who refused to proactively implement appropriate non-lethal coexistence measures,” she told KDNK. “They don't legally have to but ethically, morally, they should. They are ranching on public lands. These are our public lands.”
CPW has put in place money and training to help ranchers figure out the best non-lethal methods to use. In late August, CPW officials told the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission that the agency is also taking steps to improve relations among stakeholders and sending staff to other states to learn about non-lethal methods.
Malone said those methods have been effective in Montana, Idaho and Canada.
“This is the perfect case where we know what to do,” she explained. “The facts are there, the evidence is there, the science is there, and the ranchers aren't using appropriate proactive coexistence methods.”
Harrington is not aware of any contact from CPW prior to moving the Copper Creek pack. No one knows where the pack will turn up next; CPW is not saying.
He added that livestock growers want to see active wolf management, like more transparency from CPW, a definition of chronic depredation and a heads-up from the state when wolves roam close to livestock operations. If that doesn’t happen, it could damage the historic cooperation between ranchers and the agency. “There has always been an open gate policy, as far as I know, with most all ranchers in Colorado with Colorado Parks and Wildlife,” he said. “We're feeling that we're not getting cooperation from them and transparency and help and control of this problem. Some producers have expressed that maybe their gates would not be as open.”
Delia Malone said relocating the Copper Creek pack is risky. “The wolves often die. The pups typically get abandoned by the parent,” she said. “And unless the place that they move them to, unless those ranchers are using coexistence strategies, they're just moving the issue. They're just moving the problem.”
Copyright 2024 KDNK