State officials pledge to make co-existence of wolves, people, livestock successful

COLORADO — In 1945, after more than a decade of shooting, trapping, and poisoning that eradicated wolves in Colorado, the last wild wolf was shot and killed in Conejos County. In the close to 80 years since then, aside from solitary wolves who have roamed into Colorado from neighboring states and the pack discovered in 2020 in northwestern Colorado, wolves have been largely absent from the Colorado landscape.

That changed on Monday when five wolves, two pairs of yearling siblings and a slightly older adult male, were transported from Oregon and released on state owned land at an undisclosed location in Grand County.

The release was three intensive years in coming, put into motion by a majority of Colorado voters when, in 2020, Proposition 114 passed by a narrow margin of 50.91%. An analysis of the votes showed that the vast majority of support for the proposition came from voters living in cities along the Front Range, framing the issue as just one more indication of a deepening divide between urban and rural communities.

In a press conference held Monday night with five state officials, Executive Director of the Division of Natural Resources Dan Gibbs noted the historic nature of the day and praised the extraordinary work and team effort put forth by the Colorado Parks and Wildlife in handling the release of the wolves with such integrity and professionalism.

Jeff Davis, director of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, echoed Gibbs' comments and then addressed head-on the division in public opinion about releasing the wolves back into Colorado.

“Urban areas voted yes, rural areas voted no,” Davis said. “Wolves always come with conflict in my experience. But we’re going to navigate this [reintroduction] very well in a manner that truly respects the recovery of wolves in Colorado and makes sure that the coexistence with wolves, people and livestock is successful.

“We live in rural communities. We’re members of those communities. It’s very important for us to be partners in the communities we live in. Our dedication isn’t to just getting wolves on the ground, but to also stand side by side with our rural communities and help them avoid and minimize livestock and wolf conflict going forward.

“It’s not just responding to depredations but also collaboratively working with our rural landowners to implement non-lethal techniques.”

Davis then handed things over to Commissioner Kate Greenberg with Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA).

“My message here is that this is just the beginning of our commitment to rural and ag communities,” she said, citing a Memorandum of Understanding recently signed between the Colorado Department of Agriculture and Colorado Parks and Wildlife. “This partnership will allow our agencies to do better in terms of outreach, education, advancing non-lethal management, and technical assistance. We’ll be asking for more resources down the road to advance that and make sure we’re out there working with producers to see what works and what doesn’t and making sure our ag voice is at the table.”

Greenberg cited recent work with landowners and livestock groups to bring in funding, including $2 million for nonlethal management. The funding was through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, led by landowners and supported by CDA.

“This is just one example of how we’re working to have our rural and landowners' communities front and center,” she said.

Later in the press conference, a member of the media returned to those points, asking, “What is your message to people in Colorado who wish this day had never come?”

The question was answered by Eric Odell, Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s (CPW) Wolf Program Manager.

“Our message is we have programs in place,” Odell said. “We have staff that are part of these communities. We have our MOU with the Department of Ag. We continue to be resourced and seek additional resources so that we can do our due diligence in standing with the rural landowners to make sure we avoid and minimize conflict in the first place and that we’re responsive with our programs if and when there is depredation. We don’t want rural landowners to feel that they’re in this on their own. CPW is there to make sure that we’re successful from both a rural lifestyle and the wolf reintroduction mission that we’ve been given.”

“Depredation," in this context, is the killing of domestic animals by wolves.

The subject of the 10(j) rule which is part of the Endangered Species Act was also brought up. Under the 10(j) rule, wolves in Colorado would be considered an experimental population and no longer an endangered species, although they are still considered endangered in other states. As an experimental population, the wolves will then be under the management of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, not the management of U.S. Fish and Wildlife. CPW had asked for the 10(j) rule to be put in place.

As a result, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife reintroduction plan allows for different levels of interaction, such as actions a rancher may take if seeing an active attack. Under the CPW plan, wolves can be killed if they attack livestock, and ranchers can be compensated for livestock losses.

The Colorado General Assembly, during the 2023 session, approved bipartisan legislation setting up a $350,000 per year fund to pay ranchers who lose livestock to wolves.

Also, the "taking" (killing) of gray wolves that attack pets is not allowed but taking gray wolves that attack working dogs, or dogs that guard or herd livestock, is allowed.

“The plan needs to be adaptive,” said CPW Director Jeff Davis. “It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty good.”

The five wolves introduced this week were the first of 10 to 15 additional wolves CPW hopes to reintroduce over the next months.