Colorado Parks and Wildlife Director Jeff Davis outlined wolf-restoration efforts and spoke of a growing workload for agency staff during Thursday’s commission meeting.
He began by briefly mentioning a recent hunting excursion where he “felt better almost immediately” getting out in the field, praised the Keep Colorado Wild Pass program’s success and commended CPW staff for their diligence despite being overloaded and tired.
“There’s great people that are just trying to hang on right now, and we’re going to hang on together and get through it. But it’s a lot. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s a massive workload in a very short period of time that seems to be speeding up,” he said.
The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting began with an unplanned, hourlong exchange between commissioners and staff about policy protocol for addressing citizen petitions related to CPW projects.
One focused on the Gunnison County Stockgrowers’ Association’s September petition, asking the agency to halt wolf releases until at least November 2026. CPW plans to release wolves this winter in a southern zone that could include Montrose, Gunnison and possibly Delta, Saguache and Ouray counties.
The petition, submitted by the association and 28 other organizations, cited concerns about CPW’s ability and funding to fully address wolf-cattle conflicts.
Commissioner Tai Jacober of Carbondale asked, “because of the petition’s time sensitivity, if it could be put back on the agenda for tomorrow.”
Commission Chair Richard Reading of Denver said the petition lacked new information since its January denial and reiterated that the agency needs six to eight months to review such proposals.
“Third, I think we have other matters to discuss. If we turn every meeting into a referendum on wolves, we aren’t going to get much done,” Reading said.
Other commissioners said they didn’t feel bringing it up at the meeting was the “proper method.” Dallas May, a commissioner from Lamar, said he disagreed that the policy needs six months for review.
“These citizen petitions are to the commission, not to the agency. I see it as my responsibility to ask about these. With all that being said, I am not going to second this motion, because I do not think the time is proper,” May said.
“I would love to hear this, because our ag community wants to know... but I worry about the ramifications of all the other petitions we have,” said Commissioner Murphy Robinson of Littleton.
Commission Chair Richard Reading said the petition lacked new information since its January denial and noted the agency needs six to eight months to review such proposals.
Davis then stepped in, saying: “It’s tough when we got a lot of work coming at us to hear what sounds like ‘It’s staff’s fault,’ and in this case, it’s not.”
Nearly two years after the first release, CPW spokesperson Luke Perkins said the agency considers the program “successful,” even though a 10th wolf death last week dropped the survival rate below the management plan’s target.
“From a biological standpoint, we’re definitely looking at this as being pretty successful. We’ve got four established packs, and by established packs, I mean we’ve got four packs with the breeding pair who have had pups,” Perkins said.
The discussion turned to how commissioners should handle citizen petitions, including timelines, notification procedures and rule-making steps.
Perkins added: “We are looking at plans for what we might be able to do for translocation this winter as well.”
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik’s October letter to Davis drew media attention and raised concerns about Colorado’s wolf-sourcing strategy.
The federal government warned CPW it could violate rules by sourcing wolves outside designated Northern Rocky Mountain states. The Oct. 10 letter followed plans to release 10 to 15 wolves from British Columbia this winter.
Perkins said Canadian wolves interact less with livestock and humans and have been “good performers” on the land. He added British Columbia gray wolves, Canis lupus, are the same species as those in the Northern Rockies.
CPW spokesperson John Livingston said Yellowstone sourced Canadian wolves for its 1995 restoration.
“Lots of media coverage alleging that CPW violated the Endangered Species Act when we sourced animals from B.C. I just want to say it’s not a surprise to a career public servant when there’s changes in federal administrations. We can see different interpretations,” Davis said.
Davis said CPW worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ahead of the Canadian wolf transfer, believing no federal import permit was needed since the species isn’t listed under the Endangered Species Act in either country.
Still, the reintroduction continues.
Davis said the agency is working to align with federal guidance from Nesvik and plans to move forward with releasing up to 15 wolves this season under its restoration and management plan.
The letter prompted debate over wolf sourcing and destinations, with the Colorado Sun reporting CPW is now seeking wolves from Washington.
The agency has come under public and political pressure over wolf-cattle conflicts, depredation strategies and release sites.
“It’s difficult for folks wanting to see sustainable wolf population in the state of Colorado. You read some of the media about human-caused or natural-caused mortalities of the limited animals that we have on the landscape now,” he said.
Davis acknowledged the strain on livestock producers and land stewards and said the agency is taking it seriously.
Davis said CPW is expanding conflict-prevention efforts to boost confidence and reduce conflicts.
CPW staff completed more than 230 site assessments and provided deterrents like fladry and foxlights to 35 producers. The agency also requested approval to hire 10 to 12 range riders for southern release zones and has filled all conflict-specialist roles.
He said CPW has improved its wolf-damage compensation process for the year and has adequate funding to maintain ongoing non-lethal efforts in the minimization program, including more than $1 million generated through the “Born to Be Wild” license plate program.
Davis said CPW improved its wolf-damage compensation process and has funding for non-lethal conflict prevention, including more than $1 million from the “Born to Be Wild” license plate program.
Davis closed with a candid acknowledgment of staff fatigue.
“I’ve never seen the quality of people that I get to work with every day,” he told commissioners, adding that many are “just trying to hang on” amid rapid deadlines and high expectations.
