The Colorado Range Rider program will launch in early 2025 and is seeking qualified applicants who can help ranchers keep gray wolves away from livestock.
Range riders support livestock producers by protecting herds from wolves, whether on horseback, foot or ATV. They can not only keep an eye out for wolves, but can deploy non-lethal deterrents to haze the wolves.
The program is the result of a partnership between the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) and the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA). Both organizations hope to create a team of range riders who are connected to their communities and can be deployed at short notice, CDA and CPW said in a Monday press release.
The Colorado Range Rider program stemmed from conversations and recommendations that CPW heard from the communities that have been impacted by the wolves in the year since they were reintroduced.
"The agency has incorporated this feedback into an expanded and improved conflict minimization program for Colorado livestock producers," CDA and CPW said.
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.
As mandated by voters in 2020, CPW released 10 gray wolves in Grand County and Summit County in December 2023. Of those 10, seven have survived as of Monday. This brings the known total of wolves to 14: six reintroduced wolves in the wild, two that moved in from Wyoming, one reintroduced female and her four pups who were captured in September after multiple depredations (and will likely be released this winter), and a fifth pup that could not be captured but appears to be healthy in the wild.
CPW Director Jeff Davis called these numbers "remarkable from a biological perspective."
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"Some loss of wolves from the initial restoration was anticipated," CPW said. "Any reintroduction effort includes eventual mortality and was incorporated into the plan, which states that a review would occur if survival was below 70% in the first six months. Wolf survival was 90% for the first six months after translocation from Oregon. Wolf survival in Colorado is within normal margins for a wolf population in the Rocky Mountains."
CPW is in the midst of preparing for the second round of wolf reintroductions, which will happen between January and March 2025, though Colorado ranching groups have filed a petition to delay it. CPW said in November that it is considering sites in Garfield County, Eagle County, and Pitkin County as locations where these wolves may be released. CPW said it will also meet with local community members before releasing the captured adult female and her four pups.
Range riders who want to help keep these wolves from depredating on livestock must have some required skills, including a strong understanding of animal husbandry and stockmanship techniques, CPW and CDA said. You can sign up to learn more via this interest form.
As of Monday morning, CPW had confirmed 27 of wolf depredations in Colorado since the December 2023 reintroduction, though some ranchers say there were many unconfirmed livestock deaths that they suspect were the result of a wolf attack.
Two trainings are scheduled for early 2025: One is in January to focus on conflict mitigation during the calving and lambing season, which usually begins in late February. The second is in April, and will prepare both livestock producers and the range riders to apply their skills on the open range during the summer and fall. In addition to range riders, CPW and CDA staff members will also attend these trainings.
Those accepted into the program will be hired for the high season on the range, which is about five months from mid-April to October, CPW and CDA said.
This program would be a "costly endeavor," CPW Deputy Director of Policy Reid DeWalt said in November, with an annual estimated price of $500,000 a year. One of the possible funding sources is Colorado's wolf license plate, which as of Nov. 1 has raised $544,000 and brings in an average of about $50,000 per month.
“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. “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.”
Anybody who is interested in becoming a range rider through this program can fill out an interest form here. The program is open to livestock producers, farm and ranch managers and other private individuals, CPW and CDA said.
This program does not replace CDA's current range riding program.
Other resources and tools available for livestock producers
Outside of range riding, ranchers have other resources available to them.
In November, CPW Deputy Director of Policy Reid DeWalt explained at a CPW Commission meeting that CPW had made "a lot of progress" on free site assessments, which detect any weak spots and identify the best coexistence techniques for a specific rancher's property.
While these voluntary site assessments have been offered since the beginning of the wolf reintroduction, CPW recently updated and formalized its process for continuing this into 2025. Ranchers have requested them sometimes as a proactive measure, and other times after a depredation, DeWalt said in November. Either way, it helps CPW understand where concerns arise and how to allocate resources and staff. To apply for an assessment, contact your Area CPW Office.
CPW has also upped its staffing for wolf-related matters. In 2022, CPW hired a wolf conflict coordinator.
Between April and June 2024, CPW hired five wildlife damage specialists, with five more expected in December. These staff members will work in a depredation response group to outline expectations for both staff and the public, and explain how the agency will respond to these calls. This was also requested by ranchers who desired a better understanding of how CPW responds to reports of wolf depredations.
This past summer, CDA hired a non-lethal conflict reduction program manager, and two non-lethal mitigation specialists started this month.
Later this month, CPW will publish a Wolf-Livestock Conflict Minimization Program Guide for producers. It will include "a full list of all conflict minimization tools, methods, state staff support available including contact information, and funding sources," CPW said. This document will also lay out how CPW investigates depredations, how the compensation program works, criteria needed to obtain a permit to kill a problem wolf and the narrower updated definition of "chronic depredation."
In addition, the state is working with neighboring states to understand the best ways to handle livestock carcasses when wolves are in the area. CPW published a one-page summary of their findings, which you can find below or here.
Grants up to $20,000 are available for groups that support multiple producers — including livestock associations, governmental entities, and tribes — and will support training, education and preventative support, such as range riding or carcass management. Learn more and apply here.
Community members who want to learn more about the wolf reintroduction and what to expect can register and attend any of the upcoming educational workshops on the western slope:
- Dec. 11, 3-7 p.m. - Gunnison, Gunnison County
- Dec. 12, 3-7 p.m. - Gypsum, Eagle County
- Dec. 19, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. - Aspen, Pitkin County