DENVER — A new document tracking gray wolf depredations was published by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) on Wednesday, and shows that no claims have been made for lost livestock since December, despite six confirmed wolf kills. CPW also released an updated map of the animals' movements over the past month.
The first confirmed wolf attack on livestock in the wake of the December reintroduction happened on April 2 in Grand County, in which one calf died. The same sort of incident happened on April 7 in Jackson County. On April 17, three cattle were killed by wolves in Grand County, and the following day, a fourth cow was killed on the same property.
As part of the state's voter-mandated gray wolf reintroduction effort, CPW released its first five 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.
CPW confirmed that the wolf or wolves in the area at the same time as the first, third and fourth depredation incidents were part of the 10 animals that were reintroduced to Colorado in December. Four wolves were in the same area at the time of the second depredation, three of which were from the groups brought to the state in December.
CPW released the full list of gray wolf depredations in this document, which will be updated. It currently reads:
- April 18, 2024. Grand County. No claim submitted. 1 cattle involved.
- April 17, 2024. Grand County. No claim submitted. 3 cattle involved.
- April 7, 2024. Jackson County. No claim submitted. 1 calf involved.
- April 2, 2024. Grand County. No claim submitted. 1 calf involved.
- November 17, 2023. Jackson County. Claim received: $489.00. 3 sheep involved.
- March 13, 2023. Jackson County. Claim received: $15,000.00. 1 dog involved.
- November 19, 2022. Jackson County. Claim received: $1,106.09. 1 cattle involved.
- October 8, 2022. Jackson County. Claim received: $338.62. 1 calf involved.
- October 7, 2022. Jackson County. Claim received: $400.00. 1 calf involved.
- August 1, 2022. Jackson County. Claim received: $3,000.00. 1 calf involved.
- May 30, 2022. Jackson County. Claim received: $3,000.00. 1 calf involved.
- May 2, 2022. Jackson County. Claim received: $2,850.00. 1 calf involved.
- April 22, 2022. Jackson County. Claim received: $779.52. 1 calf involved.
- March 15, 2022. Jackson County. Claim received: $1,230.00. 2 cattle involved.
- January 18, 2022. Jackson County. Claim received: $8,647.00. 3 cattle involved.
- January 9, 2022. Jackson County. Claim received: $1,252.72. 2 dogs involved.
- December 19, 2021. Jackson County. Claim received: $1,800.00. 1 calf involved.
As of Wednesday, the ranch owners from the April 2024 incidents had not yet submitted a claim for the lost livestock to CPW. If a claim is submitted, livestock producers can be eligible for the fair market value of the livestock, in line with the Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan, which was approved in May 2023. CPW will also provide conflict minimization materials to livestock producers in the affected areas.
Joey Livingston with CPW said livestock owner seeking compensation for confirmed wolf depredations have 90 days to submit a claim for damages after notifying CPW of the loss.
"Provided, however, the claimant may elect to delay filing up to December 31 for the year in which the losses were sustained," he said.
The Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan describes the legal requirement to provide fair compensation to livestock owners for any economic losses if their animals are injured or killed by wolves. If livestock or a guard animal is injured or killed, the wolf-livestock compensation program will pay for 100% of fair market value compensation, up to $15,000 per animal. A detailed layout of the compensation options is outlined on page 33 of the management plan here.
CPW and the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) are currently working to finalize a program to partner livestock producers with range riders, the latter of which provides a deterrent for predators that may be near livestock herds. CDA has a budget request in the legislature that includes funding the range riders. CPW and CDA are also working to offer other non-lethal tools to ranchers.
In addition to sharing the depredation document on Wednesday, CPW also published its monthly updated map of where the wolves have moved in the past month. The below map illustrates the watersheds where they traveled between March 26 and April 23.
This appears to be the first map to show that the collared wolves have ventured near or into Rocky Mountain National Park and northeast of Estes Park since December.
For a watershed to indicate wolf activity, CPW must have data for at least one GPS point from a wolf collar within the watershed boundaries. Just because a watershed is purple in the above map does not mean the animals are present throughout the entire watershed, CPW said.
The CPW Commission will meet May 1-2 to discuss multiple topics, including changing rules to allow the use of artificial light for wolves causing damage, allowing pooled grazers to apply for wolf permits and compensation, and defining domestic bison as livestock so those livestock owners can be reimbursed when applicable.
