With wolf presence expected to increase on Colorado’s Western Slope in the coming years, Colorado Parks and Wildlife is urging ranchers to stay in close communication with agency officials as part of a broader effort to reduce conflict and build partnerships.
“We’re trying to emphasize good communication and collaboration,” a CPW official said. “We’re not here to dictate how ranchers should operate. We’re here to provide resources and support.”
In a meeting hosted by the La Plata and Archuleta County Cattlemen’s Association on Monday, CPW outlined its evolving approach to wolf conflict management, compensation and producer support.
The meeting aimed to inform local ranchers about tools available to help them manage the risks of wolf-livestock interactions as the state enters the third year of its gray wolf reintroduction program.
To date, 25 wolves have been relocated to Colorado from Oregon and British Columbia, and CPW plans to focus its next round of releases in the Gunnison Basin during the capture and release season, which runs from December through March.
With a wolf already tracked in La Plata and Archuleta counties, local producers say concerns are growing.
Wayne Jefferies, a local rancher and president of the cattlemen’s association, said it’s not a question of if wolves enter the area, but when.
Ranchers near the initial release sites in northern Colorado have already experienced significant livestock losses, he said. With a planned release zone closer to home, the local ranching community is bracing for an unavoidable threat to their operations.
“Cattle are like children, you want them to do well,” he said.
At the meeting, CPW presented its multilayered strategy to minimize wolf-livestock conflicts.
Key prevention measures include site-specific risk assessments, range riding programs, night monitoring, carcass management techniques, and nonlethal deterrents such as fladry fencing and scare devices.
CPW has also deployed dedicated staff members, in partnership with the Colorado Department of Agriculture, to assist ranchers on the ground in areas where wolves have been spotted.
A key conflict mitigation technique the state wants to promote is collaborative movement pattern establishment between the local ranchers and CPW.
Risk of conflict, officials said, is highly seasonal. The most vulnerable times tend to be late winter to early spring – during calving and lambing – and late summer to early fall, when livestock graze on open range and wild prey becomes more agile.
Wolves also exhibit relatively predictable seasonal movement patterns and often revisit the same corridors regardless of pack affiliation.
CPW urged producers to report signs of wolf activity, including tracks, sightings or trail camera footage, so the agency can act quickly to prevent habituation.
They emphasized that communication is key to keeping wolves and livestock separate – and to maintaining trust between state agencies and agricultural communities.
Conflict preventive methods that injure or kill wolves are prohibited unless CPW gives explicit permission.
Lethal management is considered a last resort and is permitted only after three confirmed depredation events within 30 days and after all nonlethal options have been exhausted.
Another critical component of the program is the compensation framework.
Producers can receive base payments for confirmed wolf kills or file more detailed claims for production losses, provided they can supply three years of operational records.
Importantly, compensation eligibility is not tied to whether a rancher uses CPW’s recommended mitigation strategies.
Jefferies said the meeting was a step forward in developing a stronger relationship between the ranching community and the state.
In the past, he said, some ranchers were reluctant to involve CPW. But face-to-face contact helped establish early trust and opened lines of communication he believes will be critical moving forward.
“If we can work together, we can avoid losses,” Jefferies said. “It takes a team – a big circle.”
jbowman@durangoherald.com
