Colorado’s wolf reintroduction program has so far been a disaster, but some believe there’s a chance it could still work if Wyoming’s southern neighbor would follow the Cowboy State’s lead.
“How do you make it (wolf reintroduction) work for hunters, how do you make it work for ranchers? How do you make it work for everybody?” said Jerry Whited, an experienced outdoorsman who’s lived in both states. “Follow that Wyoming model, and you’ll have a shot at making it work.”
That could include putting wolves in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park, modeling Wyoming reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park, he said. While wolves in the national park are protected, they’re not everywhere in Wyoming.
From there, wolves could cut down on the massive elk herd that has all but taken over the neighboring town of Estes Park, Colorado, Whited said.
Whited lives in rural southwestern Colorado, and grew up in rural Park County, graduating from Cody High School. He still has family in Wyoming, including a brother-in-law who is an outfitter.
He returns frequently to enjoy northwest Wyoming’s rugged backcountry, which has a lot of wolves.
And he’s watched Colorado struggle with its own wolf reintroduction program for the past nine months. It’s been such a disaster with wolves killing livestock that Colorado recently recaptured some wolves reintroduced there in December.
“Colorado screwed up,” he said.
Matt Barnes, a Colorado resident who knows wolves and ranching, agreed that his state has a tough road ahead if its wolf program is to succeed.
He told Cowboy State Daily that Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) was “out of options” when it finally decided to trap and confine a wolf pack for preying on livestock.
Barnes is a range scientist who has worked on wolf and grizzly bear conflict mitigation on ranches in Wyoming and Montana.
Low Chances Of Survival?
Colorado’s wolf reintroduction was authorized by Proposition 114. It barely squeaked by voters Nov. 3, 2020, by a margin of 50.91% to 49.09%.
After Wyoming, Montana and Idaho refused to provide wolves to Colorado, Oregon finally agreed to give 10 wolves.
Those wolves were captured in Oregon, transported to Colorado and released last December.
Their presence has been controversial from the start. Some Centennial State residents hailed it as a restoration of nature’s balance. But others, especially ranchers, say that the wolves have been nothing but trouble.
Most recently, the Colorado Department of Parks and Wildlife (CPW) decided to capture the entire Copper Creek wolf pack because at least one wolf from that pack had repeatedly killed sheep and cattle.
Those wolves, an adult male and female and their four pups, were moved to a wildlife sanctuary in an undisclosed location. The male, which was already injured before being captured, died shortly after being put into captivity.
Once the pups grow up, CPW plans to re-release them back into the wild. It hasn’t yet been decided if the adult female will also be set free again.
During a press conference late Monday, CPW officials said the plan is to feed the captive wolves road-killed big game carcasses, with as little direct human contact as possible.
It’s thought that the adult male that died was primarily responsible for killing livestock. It’s hoped that since the pups apparently never went hunting with him, they didn’t learn to kill cattle and sheep, according to CPW.
Barnes said that if the plan works as advertised, the pups might have a chance to make it on their own without attacking livestock.
“The likelihood of those wolves surviving (before they were captured) was decreasing by the day,” Barnes said. “Now they at least have a chance to contribute to the next generation in a way that doesn't transfer the knowledge of how to kill livestock.
“That said, we don't know what their chances of survival will be when they are release with the next cohort of wolves this winter.”
CPW plans to release another 10-15 wolves this winter. Oregon won’t provide any more, however, and another source of wolves has yet to be identified.
Whited said he’s less optimistic about the four young wolves surviving once they’re set free again.
Feeding them wildlife carcasses with minimal human contact is a good start, but they still need to learn how to hunt, he said.
“What are they going to do to give them a natural predatory drive?” he said.
‘It’s Working In Yellowstone’
Whited said he remembers well when wolves were first brought into Yellowstone National Park in the mid-1990s.
Wildlife agency officials at that time held numerous public meetings and frequently didn’t get a warm welcome.
“I attended some of those meetings in Cody,” he said. “I remember them getting screamed at and spit on,” he said.
But straightforward transparency from agencies was the rule of the day back then, Whited said.
Now, CPW seems to be too secretive, which is just causing resentment and fueling the rumor mill, he said.
Wyoming did things the right way by allowing the wolves to re-establish themselves in Yellowstone Park. But wolf hunting has been allowed outside of the park.
Hunters and ranchers have been allowed to “cull wolves” in Wyoming, to help protect livestock, he said.
“It’s working in Yellowstone,” Whited said.
He said the wolves have brought balance back to Yellowstone. They’ve cut down on the number of coyotes and kept elk from devouring all the willow stands.
That in turn has helped foxes, beavers and other species thrive, Whited said.
Colorado would be wise to consider a policy similar to Wyoming’s, he said. Perhaps giving wolves full protection in places like Rocky Mountain National Park, but allowing people to shoot them if they stray outside of protected areas and attack livestock.
He added that he’s seen wolves drive elk into the backcountry in northwest Wyoming. They could also push elk into the Colorado back country and away from Estes Park.
In Estes Park, elk walk the streets and take over public parks and playgrounds. This summer have been at least two reports of elk attacking children there. The children escaped with minor injuries.
Nonlethal Methods
Barnes said he still thinks nonlethal deterrents, such as lights and loud noises, are the best way to protect livestock from wolves in Colorado.
Responses to wolves attacking livestock should be prompt, he said.
“We can't let these situations drag on for months,” Barnes said. “We also can't let removal be a subsidy for business as usual. Ranching is a business of keeping prey animals alive in predator country. And that needs to be proactive, and as much as possible, nonlethal.”
There was also never much hope for the male wolf from the Copper Creek pack that died, he said. That wolf was too accustomed to attacking livestock.
“And for what it's worth, I don't think CPW could ever have released that adult male,” Barnes said. “His death, unfortunate though it is, may also be a little bit of mercy from the universe.”
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
