In December of 2023, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) acted on Proposition 114 to reintroduce gray wolves to Colorado. They released 10 wolves captured in Oregon into Grand County and Summit County, which together with the two who migrated naturally from Wyoming makes 12 known wolves in the state. 

Until recently, the reintroduction had been going well with the wolves getting settled in their new environment, but all through April local ranchers have had serious trouble with the wolves.

Grand County rancher Conway Farrell has lost five cattle in 11 days to attacks from the newly released wolves and is beginning to worry about how long this will continue before CPW can do something about it. Farrell blames politics and the Governor for these decisions.

“You just get up and go to work. Yeah, you got problems, but you fix them every day. But they have us to where we can’t fix the problem we have. We feel it’s completely based on decisions getting shoved down the local wildlife officers’ throats from the governor’s office,” said Farrell.

The CPW provides resources to ranchers to help those affected by the reintroduction, including non-lethal tools for deterring wolves and a process for requesting the removal of wolves guilty of chronic depredation. 

Farrell took note of the collar numbers and knows that two wolves, in particular, have been killing his cattle. He requested that the CPW “lethally remove” the wolves he noted. 

CPW allows ranchers that right, considering that killing wolves of one’s own accord can lead to a $100,000 fine and jail time, but these wolves are a unique situation. They’ve bonded and likely have a den nearby, meaning killing them, or even just moving them, really means killing all their pups too. However, if they’re allowed to stay, Farrell’s problems will multiply.

The CPW will pay ranchers for the loss of their cattle, but Farrell says this doesn’t take into account the rest of the related costs. He spends so much time monitoring his most vulnerable herds that he’s not able to focus on other cattle, losing them to illness or other preventable problems. 

Some Coloradans feel that the decision to reintroduce wolves was formed into a political one, when it should have been left up to experts in CPW or the communities most affected by the reintroduction. 

While rebuilding the wolf population is an excellent thing for conservation and protecting the endangered species, experts should have been more thoroughly consulted on where would be best for wolves and people to coexist. 

This decision directly affects both wolves’ and people’s livelihoods. Deciding between a rancher’s ability to support his family and wolf pups’ survival is something that never should have happened. Additionally, the two wolves noted killing cattle were reported for the same thing in Oregon before being transferred, so choosing those wolves and placing them in an area with a lot of cattle ranching was irresponsible. It places the burden on ranchers to make a show of conservation efforts rather than really doing what’s best for the state. 

Despite all this, wolves still deserve protection. GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert is advocating for the Trust the Science Act, removing gray wolves from the endangered species list, saying the lower 48 states should recognize it as a success and move on. Although the bill passed in the House, it’s unlikely to go any further. 

The White House condemned the bill saying it would “undermine America’s proud wildlife conservation traditions and the implementation of one of our nation’s bedrock environmental laws.”

There’s an interesting hypocrisy with conservative opinions surrounding the reintroduction of wolves. Some say the government should not have gotten involved and left the decision up to the experts, and others, like Boebert, say the experts can not be trusted, and the government should make the decision. However, many people on the left are supporting the reintroduction of wolves without understanding the consequences.

The pieces lacking here are education and patience. If there’s going to be a direct democratic vote on a decision like this, people need to be educated on the consequences for people in their community. Likewise, if expert opinion is going to be the basis for decisions, the government needs to have the patience to consult a multitude of experts on where and how wolves should be introduced and prepare to deal with the problems ranchers face ahead of time, while still respecting new population growth.