Effort to Pause Wolf Reintroduction Denied by Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission

Colorado’s wolf reintroduction program will continue as planned after the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission voted 10-1 to deny a petition from agricultural producers to pause reintroduction over wolf depredations and impacts to livestock businesses.

The Parks and Wildlife Commission members acknowledged the importance of livestock producers and the unique difficulties they face in proximity to wolves, but commissioners ended up deciding that a pause in reintroduction was not the best method to address those concerns.

Livestock owners want to minimize damage and have stronger mitigation plans, while wolf advocates want to see a self-sustaining population in Colorado, Commissioner Eden Vardy summarized.

“Hearing from the biologists, I believe that a pause is not going to address either of those concerns," Vardy said at the meeting on Wednesday, January 8.

Vardy said that CPW still hopes to address agricultural industry concerns while moving forward with a planned release of wolves later this month.

Colorado is reintroducing wolves after voters approved a ballot measure proposing a reintroduction program in 2020. Agricultural groups submitted a petition to pause wolf reintroduction in September 2024, with CPW staff recommending a rejection of the petition last month. The CPW commission heard over 75 public comments on January 8 and received hundreds of written comments before deciding to agree with CPW staff's recommendation.

Tim Ritschard, president of the Middle Park Stockgrowers Association, one of the groups behind the petition, told commissioners that petitioners want a range rider program to monitor areas in which wolves live; better carcass management and site vulnerability assessments from CPW; and a rapid response team for depredations in place before any more wolves are brought to the state. The petition also requested a definition of chronic depredation so that wolves found regularly preying on livestock can be killed.

On December 9, CPW and the Colorado Department of Agriculture announced they would be implementing all of those suggestions in 2025. According to CPW, the department has hired five wildlife damage experts and plans to hire five more, and has also hired a Non-Lethal Conflict Reduction Program Manager; the CDA has added two mitigation specialists, as well.

The two state agencies have partnered to create a Colorado Range Rider program to deploy personnel to visit livestock and deploy hazing techniques to deter wolves.

“The conditions of the petition have been met,” Lindsay Larris, wildlife program director for environmental advocacy group WildEarth Guardians, told the commission on January 8.

But many public commenters in favor of a definition for chronic depredation felt that CPW's stakeholding period last fall didn’t have enough community involvement. Some commenters also took issue with the definition being a recommended guideline rather than an official agency rule, and are concerned the guideline wouldn’t be enforced.

“What you’ve got is my word,” CPW Director Jeff Davis said in response to a question about why people should feel confident the definition will apply. “That's all I’ve got, is my word and my integrity.”

Senior Assistant Attorney General Jake Matter clarified that should a chronic depredation permit be denied by CPW, a producer could appeal to the commission, which could rule in favor of issuing the permit.

Livestock producers also argued that more time to prepare for a growing wolf population is necessary.

“This request is rooted in a critical reality,” Erin Karney of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association told commissioners. “We are not adequately prepared to ensure the success of this initiative, and rushing forward without proper preparation puts the program, livestock producers and rural communities at significant risk.”

According to Karney, very few people have actually received site assessments. Ritschard testified that range riders are needed as soon as February, but CPW didn't plan to fully staff and train range riders until April. CPW staff said they are working to fast-track the range-riding program and hope to have two to four range riders ready to go by January 30. Additionally, the CDA said it already has range riders ready to deploy.

Commenters in favor of pausing wolf introduction emphasized that the petition wasn’t asking for a permanent cancellation, but a delay to get better resources for ranchers in place. That is why Commissioner Marie Haskett, who was the only vote in favor of the petition and who works as a wildlife outfitter, said she wanted to pause reintroduction.

“This was a rushed reintroduction because it was a ballot initiative,” Haskett said. “If you look at Wyoming, it took eight years. In other states, it took a long time. Three years is pretty fast. … We have a chance to finish this the right way. Let's slow down and look at it and reassess.”

But other commissioners, including Tai Jacober, said they felt comfortable that the concerns of the petitioners were being addressed by CPW. When Jacober, who is a rancher, asked CPW staff if they felt a pause would help, Eric Odell, wolf conservation program manager, said a pause of even a few weeks in the winter would be extremely negative for the program, as wolf breeding season begins in February.

Those in favor of keeping the wolf reintroduction program as is cited a recent poll of 500 people by Colorado Nature Action that found that 55 percent of respondents support moving forward with the plan while 45 percent are opposed.

“A vocal minority's opposition is drowning out the majority of Coloradans who supported reintroduction,” Kelly Murphy of the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center said. “You put in an exceptional amount of effort into revising and improving this plan just so wolves can be tolerated on the landscape where they belong, and that's really sad, because it will never be enough for those insistent on painting this as a failure.”

There are nine wolves actively in Colorado right now, according to CPW, and wildlife advocates don't think that population number is anywhere close to self-sustaining.

“I am a political scientist and I believe in democracy, and I find it very hard that we have to vote on something that the people of Colorado already voted for and and asked us to maintain and bring into introduction,” Commissioner Murphy Robinson said. “I believe our team here is doing a good job with the hand that they are dealt. The poker hand is not very fun, but you are dealt a hand and you're dealing with that hand, and I want to commend you for dealing with that.”

Even though the commission denied this petition, the concept of wolf reintroduction still isn't fully safe in Colorado. Another group has filed a proposal for a 2026 ballot measure to repeal wolf reintroduction entirely.