DENVER — The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission has unanimously approved, as recommended by CPW last week, two high-value claims filed by ranchers whose livestock were severely impacted by gray wolves in 2024.
Denver7 reported on Feb. 27 that CPW had recommended the approval of these two claims, which included one of nearly $300,000.
Environment
CPW recommends approval of two high-value wolf depredation claims
“The ranching families have worked very constructively with CPW to figure this out," CPW Director Jeff Davis said at a CPW Commission meeting Wednesday morning.
CPW Commissioner Chair Dallas May explained that for the past five years, producers, wolf advocates and the general public have pushed to reach a place where they can work together to find a solution.
"This is one of the big tests of: Can we do that?" he asked the commission.
Following a discussion about the two claims, the commissioners unanimously voted to approve both.
“The request for payment on this is not a bonus to anybody," May explained. "It’s simply trying to recover some of the cost that has been lost and actually should have been to these producers last fall.”
He added that Colorado is the only state in the west that itemizes claims, meaning ranchers are compensated for not just lost animals, but confirmed livestock's weight loss and reduced pregnant rates.
Want to learn more about Colorado's wolf reintroduction? You can explore the timeline below, which outlines all of Denver7's coverage since the very beginning. The timeline starts with our most recent story.
One of the claims is for Bruchez and Sons, LLC, based in Grand County. Their claim of $56,008.74 was approved. Rancher Doug Bruchez spoke with Denver7 in December about the past year living with wolves, and recalled finding a dead calf — the first confirmed wolf kill since the December 2023 reintroduction — on April 2, 2024.
The other claim was for Farrell Livestock, LLC, based in Jackson County, and their claim of $287,407.63 for the loss of sheep and cattle to wolves was also approved. They saw multiple livestock kills on their property in 2024.
Travis Black, CPW's northwest region manager, explained at the commission meeting that the entire initial Farrell claim for 2024 was about $400,000. As of the meeting Wednesday, Black said CPW believes $287,000 of that should be paid, and asked the commission to do so on Wednesday.
“The division and the claimant have not resolved the second part of this claim on missing cattle for the amount of $112,000. That issue is not up for decision for the commission today," Black said, adding that the agency and ranching family were asking for more time to work through this second part, but neither party wanted to delay the $287,000 payment.
If they are unable to reach a resolution, the claim will come back to the commission for a final decision.
When asked by a CPW commissioner, Black explained a breakdown of the claim: About 15 animals were killed by a wolf, as confirmed by CPW. That is the base compensation. The Farrell ranch also saw missing sheep, and knowing that wolves were in the area, CPW agreed upon an additional $3,500 for those animals. Then there are the reduced weaning weights in 2024, which were compared to three years of records to establish a baseline. About 1,470 calves weighed an average of 36.5 pounds less each, Black said. Lastly, there is the reduced contraception rates, as the ranch saw a 2.9% reduction in cow pregnancy rates, which ended up with a total loss of $90,000.
“That is how we arrived at that total figure of $287,000 — it’s that baseline, the missing sheep, the reduced weaning weights and the reduced conception rates," Black explained.
Hear directly from the ranchers whose claims were approved
Denver7 spoke with both Bruchez and Conway Farrell after the commission voted to approve the claim on Wednesday.
The vote came after many months of preparation and work, Bruchez said. He thought it had a 50/50 shot.
"We typically don't have all of our numbers until December of every year — the numbers that we needed in order to produce a claim," he explained. "So, spent several weeks in December compiling all the information. We actually worked very closely with our local DWM (district wildlife manager) — helped us actually compile all of the data to make sure that we were being transparent and that the data was accurate."
Watch Denver7's Wednesday interview with Bruchez and Conway Farrell in the video below.
It was new territory for ranchers, Farrell said.
"When you have to go back through, get all this data together, and then all the data from this year, and then get with CPW to go through it — it's new to them. It was new to us," he said. "There's a lot of frustrating pieces on both sides for them and the language and trying to get all this stuff compiled."
He said it feels "good" to get some of this behind him.
"There's a lot of money at stake here, and nobody realizes how many millions and millions of dollars in debt and how much it costs to run one of these operations," he said. "We need that money to keep moving forward, to keep our operation going. And it's good to get that — a part of it — behind us. We still got more to go, and we're looking forward to the next part of it."
Bruchez explained that this is an important step as Colorado's wolf program continues.
"Because if wolves are going to be on the landscape, you know, part of Prop 114 was to provide that compensation, and I think that's... probably why it passed, and to see that they are following through with compensation unanimously was a relief."
Farrell said he does not know the next steps or when the check for the claim will arrive.
"I hope it's soon. Can't be soon enough," he said. "We usually would have got this money in October (or) November, when we wean and sell our calves."
Bruchez echoed what CPW Commissioner Chair May had said in the meeting Wednesday afternoon: This isn't a bonus for ranchers.
"This is literally a reimbursement for losses that we have already incurred," he said. "... Nothing is ever going to make us whole for what these wolves are doing to us."
Both Farrell and Bruchez are members of the Middle Park Stockgrowers Association, which shared the damage claims from three livestock producers at the end of last year.
Tim Ritschard, president of the Middle Park Stockgrowers Association, said the group is glad to see the claims were approved.
"This is a step in the right direction. Does this cover all the actual losses that happen? I do not think so," he told Denver7 on Wednesday after the vote. "We are just starting to see the impact of what really happened and with only 12 wolves on the ground. Now we have 30 wolves across a bigger landscape. This year will be the next test and if the programs are implemented maybe we won’t see as much in claims next year this time. Time will tell what is going to happen."
The list of claims discussed at the Wednesday meeting only included those above $20,000. In addition to the two wolf-related claims, there was one for bear depredation on sheep in Garfield County amounting to a loss of $65,523.23, and one for the $41,786.00 loss in alfalfa and grass due to elk grazing.
Black explained that his staff investigated both wolf claims thoroughly and determined they should be paid.
"I personally reviewed both claims and I’m familiar with wolf conflicts on both ranches that were experienced in 2024," Black said.
How does wolf damage compensation work in Colorado?
Rachael Gonzales, CPW's northwest region public information officer, told Denver7 in late February that the $287K claim was one of the higher ones the agency has seen for wolf-specific damage. CPW only began compensating for livestock depredations by wolves in 2021.
"It’s also important to remember that the compensation structure for wolves is higher than the structure for bear and mountain lion depredation, and is the highest compensation payment program for wolf depredation in the nation due to the voter-mandated reintroduction of gray wolves," she added.
She said that CPW and its partners, which include the Colorado Department of Agriculture, USDA's Wildlife Services, Colorado State University Extension and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, are working to teach livestock producers about the state's conflict minimization program, and the resources available to them. This includes range riders. As of mid-February, nine people who applied to become a range rider in Colorado — a task that involves long days and nights understanding livestock and protecting them from predators, like wolves — have accepted offers from the state.
These tools can help minimize the conflicts with livestock, and therefore could impact the number and amount of claims submitted, she said.
When a wildlife damage claim is submitted to CPW, the agency can either accept the amount, renegotiate with the producer, or can recommend to deny it. In the latter case, a staff member with CPW's Game Damage Office will contact the producer before the claim is presented to the CPW Commission for final disposition.
Compensation for wolf depredations comes from the General Fund, the Species Conservation Trust Fund, the Colorado Nongame Conservation and Wildlife Restoration Cash Funds, or other sources of funding for non-game species, according to the CPW.
Read Colorado's full gray wolf restoration and management plan below or here.
Background on Colorado wolves, plus more details on the 2025 wolf release
Dec. 18, 2024 marked one year since Colorado's first wolf reintroduction, which was mandated by voters in 2020. CPW released its first five gray wolves on Dec. 18, 2023, at an undisclosed place in Grand County. Five more were released a few days later in Grand and Summit counties.
This second round of reintroductions came weeks after the CPW Commission decided to deny a petition filed by ranchers to pause the wolf reintroduction program. That commission vote came after hours of testimony, Q&A and public comment at the Jan. 8, 2025 Denver meeting. The work to capture and release this second set of wolves from British Columbia, which began on Jan. 11, concluded on Jan. 18, CPW said.
The 15 new wolves — seven males and eight females, all from Canada — will join the seven surviving from the first reintroduction in 2023, five pups born in 2024 and two wolves that moved south from Wyoming years ago.
Watch our January report about the latest wolf release in Pitkin and Eagle counties in the video below.
Of those 15 new wolves, six were yearlings, seven were 3 or 4 years old and two were 4 or 5 years old.
CPW's Wolf Conservation Program Manager Eric Odell provided an update on this second round of releases during Wednesday's commission meeting. He described the British Columbia landscape as similar to Colorado, but lacking infrastructure and people. The wolf packs in that area of British Columbia do not overlap with domestic livestock, Odell said.
The planning for the 2025 release began in August 2024 with weekly meetings with CPW's counterparts in British Columbia. Once the operation began in January, the whole group had a briefing every morning and evening, Odell said. Two helicopters were involved — one for capture and another for transport.
If the captured wolves needed to be kept overnight, they were put in an 8 foot-by-8 foot crate, which was 6 feet high, for a maximum of two nights. The ground was covered in hay, and staff included an ice block for hydration.
All of the wolves were given thorough health checks and outfitted with a GPS collar. In addition, three wolves in Colorado with malfunctioning collars were captured and new collars were attached, he said.
Odell reported that the British Columbia wolves were very docile during the capture and release operation. They were not fed, however he said if they had had to keep them longer, staff may have done that. They were checked on every two hours.
Odell added that First Nations in British Columbia also had the opportunity to perform a brief ceremony near a sedated wolf.
The flight from British Columbia to Colorado took about four hours. The crates were then loaded into a transport vehicle, which brought the animals to the release sites.
Staff repeated this on three different days, with five wolves each time. All 15 are doing well, Odell said.
Per the contract for the operation, the total cost was not to exceed $300,000 and Odell said he believes it was about $250,000, not including staff pay.
Currently, the concentration of wolves remains in Grand, Summit, Eagle and Pitkin counties, though two have wandered west near the Utah border, Odell said.
Odell said British Columbia has welcomed CPW to obtain more wolves from the province in the future. He added that with so much turnover of wolves there, that would not be a genetic concern.
CPW keeps a list of confirmed wolf depredations on a public document, and 2024 ended with 17 incidents and 27 killed or seriously injured livestock.
“There’s a lot of wolves on the ground that are not causing depredations and those are the stories to tell," Odell said. "It doesn’t quite have the same drama as animals that are causing conflict, but it’s certainly important to acknowledge that not all wolves are bad wolves in the livestock conflict circumstances.”
The agency has confirmed one wolf kill in early February in Jackson County, but no other wolf depredations in 2025 as of this story's publishing time. That wolf was not collared, meaning it does not appear to be one of the translocated animals from the 2023 or 2025 wolf releases.