CPW rolls out Colorado Range Rider Program and other changes to minimize wolf conflicts in the state
Colorado plans to release more gray wolves in the New Year. Between January and March, 15 more wolves from British Columbia will be released in an undisclosed location per the state’s voter-approved wolf reintroduction effort, according to The Mountain Mail.
These wolves follow the previously released 10 wolves back in December 2023. However, as GOHUNT previously reported, CPW had to relocate problem wolves from the newly introduced Copper Creek pack back in August after repeated livestock depredation, and one was found dead on public land.
In response to comments from local stakeholders, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) has adopted changes to its Livestock Conflict Minimization Program that will “allow livestock producers to identify nonlethal measures for deterring wolf and livestock encounters” on their properties. Additional staff has been hired to help with conflict reduction and about 22 producers on the Western Slope have already signed up for the free site assessments, according to the agency.
“CPW staff and our partners have been working hard, learning and adapting throughout this first year of wolf restoration in Colorado,” said CPW Director Jeff Davis in a joint news release by CPW and the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA), which added that the departments “take our responsibility for the wellbeing of the ranchers, their livestock and the wolves very seriously.”
CPW is also rolling out the Colorado Range Rider Program in 2025, which will provide specialized training for range riders to monitor for wolf presence and learn hazing techniques to discourage wolves if needed.
“The Colorado Range Rider Program will train skilled riders who will work alongside Colorado’s livestock producers to mitigate conflict, expand capacity on the range and help support resilient ranches,” said Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture Kate Greenberg in a statement. “Through CDA and CPW’s partnership, this program will connect producers to state resources available to them as we work toward coexistence with wolves in Colorado.”
While the decision to reintroduce wolves to the Centennial State was controversial, CPW calls the survival of the seven adult wolves and five pups from the initial 10 reintroduced wolves “remarkable from a biological perspective.” The additional release of the 15 wolves in 2025 is “intended to further stabilize the newly introduced population.”
Stay tuned to GOHUNT for further updates.
