Wolf plan and depredation events

The Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan is a 261-page document that is the result of months of dialogue between stakeholders and is meant to guide Colorado Parks and Wildlife as they release wolves in the state. It guides the actual implementation, management, conflict management, and the monitoring and reporting that can be expected from the agency.

In an on-camera interview with 9News, CPW Director Jeff Davis said his decision to capture and then re-release the Copper Creek pack was a deviation rather than a violation. He said that Attorney General Phil Weiser, who is running for governor, advised him that the plan isn’t legally binding, but is merely a plan.

Wolf compensation was in the news recently when a recorded phone call was released by Coberly Creek Ranch that captured a CPW investigator admitting she believed a killed calf was a result of a wolf, but that she was being pressured to not rule it as such. CPW had told the ranchers “investigators determined that it was improbable that a wolf killed the calf” while on the call, the investigator said, “I don’t like it, you’re not going to like it, is that everybody’s telling me I have to call it inconclusive and if I don’t call it inconclusive, they’re not, they’re going to argue with me.”

The state settled the dispute agreeing to classify the loss as a wolf kill and pay compensation after the ranch’s attorney presented CPW with the recording.

CPW reported this week that female gray wolf 2304 was found dead on July 24, 2025, in Wyoming. CPW has coordinated with Wyoming Game and Fish for the return of its tracking collar, however Wyoming state law prevents further detail from being shared.

Wolf 2304 was part of the group of wolves translocated to Colorado from Oregon. Wolves are known to travel long distances to find food or mates, including into other states. According to the release, CPW does not comment on wildlife movements, operations or regulations in other states and has no further comment on the mortality as it took place outside of Colorado.

DEPREDATION EVENTS

CPW also confirmed three depredation events caused by an uncollared wolf in Rio Blanco County on July 20, 22, and Aug. 2, 2025. Of these depredations one was determined by clear and convincing evidence to have been caused by a wolf with the other two being determined by a preponderance of evidence to have been caused by a wolf. As such this situation meets CPW’s definition of chronic depredation.

According to the release, since the first depredation event on July 20, 2025, CPW has been coordinating with producers and local woolgrowers associations to provide around-the-clock range rider coverage while opportunistically hazing the wolf. Range riding efforts supplemented existing non-lethal conflict minimization tools already deployed by the producer as determined by a site assessment conducted earlier this year to discourage depredation on these allotments.

Under normal circumstances this situation would warrant lethal removal operations in the area, however, the allotments where the depredations occurred are under evacuation due to the Elk Fire. As such CPW’s primary concerns are the safety of staff deployed to the area and safety of the community.

CPW is continuing to monitor the situation in Rio Blanco County while coordinating with emergency services to prioritize human safety and minimize loss of livestock.

“This is a truly unprecedented set of circumstances, and my thoughts are with the firefighters and the emergency responders who are working to minimize damage in Rio Blanco County, as well as the producers and CPW’s staff,” Davis said