Colorado grapples with growing wolf population
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A pair of gray wolves in captivity. Photo: Anthony Souffle/Star Tribune via Getty Images
Colorado's growing wolf population is bringing more conflict — and increasingly lethal consequences.
The latest: Colorado wildlife officials have killed three yearling gray wolves in the past month, including two on Monday, after repeated attacks on livestock.
Why it matters: The lethal removals highlight the tension at the heart of Colorado's wolf reintroduction push as the wolf population grows and conflicts with ranchers increase.
By the numbers: Colorado Parks and Wildlife killed yearlings from the Copper Creek and Three Creeks packs in Pitkin and Rio Blanco counties Monday after each was linked to four livestock attacks, the agency confirmed.
- Last month, CPW also killed a yearling from the One Ear Pack after it preyed on four calves.
- CPW said the attacks continued despite ranchers using nonlethal deterrents, including cameras, range riders and hazing.
Zoom out: Wolves have injured or killed nearly three dozen livestock since July, according to agency data.
- At least 19 wolves have died since Colorado began reintroducing them in December 2023.
What they're saying: CPW director Laura Clellan said the agency remains committed to livestock producers and "efforts to support our growing wolf population."
The other side: "Colorado can't keep killing wolves when it already has so few left and no additional reintroductions are in sight," Samantha Miller, a spokesperson for the environmental group the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement.
Between the lines: Colorado's plans to keep adding wolves remain uncertain.
- CPW "continues to explore" releasing more wolves, but hasn't identified a source population for this winter, agency spokesperson Luke Perkins tells Axios.
What we're watching: The rules governing wolf management could also change at the federal level.
- President Trump this month ordered Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to determine within 90 days whether gray and Mexican wolves should be stripped of Endangered Species Act protections.
- The order also directs federal officials to consider loosening standards for lethal removal and, if wolves meet federal recovery criteria, encourage states to ease their own protections.
- It's unclear what those changes would mean for Colorado's reintroduction program.
Go deeper: Colorado's wolf population is growing — and so are ranchers' concerns