Colorado Parks and Wildlife has started an operation to capture and relocate the wolves from the Copper Creek Pack, which have been behind multiple depredations — instances of preying on livestock —since wolves were reintroduced in the state in December.
CPW announced Tuesday evening this process was already underway, with technical support from its federal partners. Director Jeff Davis says the decision came after careful consideration and feedback from various stakeholders.
”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," Davis said. "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.”
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The Copper Creek Pack, named in June, is made up of at least one breeding pair and three pups. A wolf pack is established once a pair reproduces, and that was confirmed on June 18 after CPW biologists spotted a single wolf pup at a den site in Grand County. The Copper Creek Pack is the first confirmed wolf pack in Colorado since the reintroduction in December.
The wolf pups were recently captured in a video — the first to be shared publicly — and state officials said all of the young animals appeared to be healthy.
The exact details surrounding when and how CPW plans to capture the wolf pack, and where they will plan to relocate them, is not yet clear. In response to follow-up questions from Scripps News Denver, CPW said it will release more information at a later time.
A section of the federal Endangered Species Act for this wolf reintroduction allows Colorado officials to relocate the wolves. Its adoption meant that the state wildlife organization gained management flexibility for the animal. For Colorado, this can include management tools like aversive conditioning and lethal take to protect people and livestock, especially following reintroduction.
"Management of the nonessential experimental population would allow gray wolves in the NEP (nonessential experimental population) to be hazed, killed, or relocated by the Service or our designated agent(s) for livestock depredations," the document states.
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To protect the animals, CPW is not sharing exact details of where the Copper Creek Pack is located — however, during last week's CPW Commission meeting, CPW Assistant Director Reid DeWalt said the main issue with depredation continues to be with that breeding pair in Middle Park.
"We continue to work with that situation for solutions and opportunities for improvements," he said Friday. "We have had depredations from a few other wolves, but nothing to the level we've seen in Middle Park."
To better understand wolf depredations, CPW hired five predator damage conflict specialists who will focus on wolves, but also black bears and mountain lions.
Throughout the planning process and implementation of the wolf reintroduction project, CPW has worked with wildlife biologists, federal partners and livestock producers — something that will continue throughout the process.
As of Tuesday evening, 24 animals — sheep, calves and cows — had been injured or killed by wolves since the December 2023 release. These incidents happened in Jackson County, Grand County and Routt County. The most recent involved eight sheep in Grand County on July 28.
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Currently, Colorado is home to 11 known adult wolves — nine that were introduced in December (originally 10, but one of the introduced wolves was killed by a mountain lion in April) and two that moved into Colorado previously — and three pups.
The wolf reintroduction was mandated by voters in 2020. In May 2023, the Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan was finalized after years of meetings and discussions with community members. By the end of the year, 10 wolves had been released in Grand and Summit counties.
They have since spread to various watersheds in the state, as illustrated in the latest gray wolf activity map below. The map is updated on the fourth Wednesday of every month here. The wolves have not moved south of Interstate 70 as of the time of the below map's publication.
The next wolf reintroduction is set to begin this winter somewhere in the northern zone, which is outlined in the Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan.
It is the upper oval in the map below.
In July, a rancher in the Middle Park area who had experienced multiple confirmed wolf depredations submitted an application to CPW for lethal take of a wolf due to chronic depredation, which means they were requesting permission to kill a wolf that had frequently injured or killed their livestock.
CPW had documented that wolves had injured or killed three yearling cattle on April 17, one yearling cattle on April 18, one yearling cattle on April 28, one yearling cattle on May 11 and one sheep on July 17.
The rancher's lethal take permit request was denied by CPW, according to a letter obtained by Defenders of Wildlife and shared with Scripps News Denver.
In a letter to the rancher, CPW outlined the four criteria needed to issue this type of permit, noting that only one met the standard:
- Documented repeated depredation and harassment of the applicant's livestock or working dogs caused by the wolf, wolves, or pack targeted (meets criteria)
- Use of a variety of nonlethal conflict minimization materials and techniques (does not meet criteria)
- Likelihood that additional wolf-related depredation will continue if lethal control is or is not implemented (does not meet criteria)
- Unintentional or intentional use of attractants that may be luring or baiting wolves to the location (does not meet criteria)
CPW outlined the reason for the denial in their response letter, saying that the ranch:
- Tried some nonlethal measures before seeking lethal control, but "delayed using or refused to use other nonlethal techniques that could have prevented or minimized depredations."
- Had access to hire a range rider on April 5, but refused it until April 29. The Colorado Department of Agriculture had offered the funding as a nonlethal deterrent in early April. Once the range rider was brought in, the ranch saw depredations drop to two in 12 weeks.
- Refused to use fladry or pursue a nonlethal injurious hazing permit. The rancher agreed to pursue this route after seeking lethal control. CPW said the ranch "failed to timely implement available nonlethal conflict minimization materials and techniques. Because these nonlethal measures could have prevented some, if not all, of (redacted) depredations, the second factor weighs against lethal control."
- Had not buried a dead pit, which was used to dispose of dead ranch animals. Because it was open, it was likely attracting wolves to the property, CPW said. When CPW notified the ranchers that the pit could be an attractant, they refused to bury the pit until May 8. In the 10 weeks after the ranch buried this pit, depredations decreased.
In the conclusion of the letter, CPW said it appreciates the rancher's willingness to work with the department.
CPW encourages the public to report any wolf sightings, especially with photos or videos. To submit one, visit CPW.info/wolf-sighting.
Read the full wolf restoration and management plan here.
This story was originally published by Stephanie Butzer at Scripps News Denver.
