The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission (CPW) held a special meeting Monday to discuss a contentious pack of wolves based in Pitkin County.
A member of the Copper Creek Pack was killed at the end of May after repeatedly feeding on livestock. Since then, local producers have been pushing CPW to remove the rest of the pack.
During their June meeting, CPW commissioners considered directing staff to remove the pack; however, they ultimately decided against taking immediate action after questions were raised about whether they had the legal authority to make such a decision.
CPW Director Jeff Davis said Monday the commission’s legal authority to remove wolves isn’t perfectly clear, but their own rules grant that authority to CPW division staff.
“The regulations issued by the commission in preparation for the wolf reintroduction specifically identified the division as the entity that will make the decision on lethal wolf removal,” Davis said. “So the commission has already delegated this type of decision on wolves to the division.”
CPW staff said that they had not confirmed any additional livestock depredations since the wolf was killed in May, but conflicts with the Copper Creek Pack have continued.
Director Davis acknowledged that due to the size and vegetation of the livestock grazing area in western Colorado, there may have been additional depredations that the agency doesn’t know about.
He also emphasized that he and his staff have been working closely with affected livestock producers, who are doing their best to coexist with the wolves.
“These are good human beings that have their livelihoods at stake,” Davis said. “They’re not doing the wrong things. They’re working with us and doing the right things, and we’ve got to continue to help them out.”
Commissioner Tai Jacober questioned whether focusing on this pack was worth expending significant CPW resources, such as deploying multiple range riders to scare wolves away.
“There’s a limited amount of resources out there,” Jacober said. “At what point are we going to realize certain individuals are not worth all of the resources?”
In 2020, Coloradans voted to reintroduce gray wolves, a native species that was intentionally eradicated in the 1940s to protect livestock and wild game.
Advocates of wolf reintroduction point to the benefits of having an apex predator on the landscape: reducing elk and deer populations could help restore biodiversity, which has been compromised by climate change and other human activities.
The CPW commission will hear an update on the wolf program during their next regular meeting on July 17. They will take public comment to close out the second day of the meeting on July 18.
