It’s official: Colorado is now host to 15 more human-introduced wolves as of last month. According to a Jan. 19 press release from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, CPW completed capture and release for the second gray wolf reintroduction season.

This is in addition to the re-release of five members of the original Copper Creek Pack, which were captured in late 2024 to be relocated to help reduce potential livestock depredations.

All of the past month’s wolves were released in Eagle and Pitkin counties, not in the counties of Northwest Colorado.

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The January release was a continuation of the efforts to create a permanent, self-sustaining gray wolf population in Colorado, which is dictated under the Colorado Gray Wolf Management and Restoration Plan.

As a reminder, that plan was put in place after Colorado voters approved Ballot Initiative 114 in 2020, which required Colorado to reintroduce a self-sustaining gray wolf population to the state. According to CPW, no further releases are planned for the 2024-2025 capture season.

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Even if the latest batch of wolves was released many miles from our area, wolves from last year’s release and those that have come into Colorado from Wyoming are in Northwest Colorado.

In fact, the most recent depredation occurred just two weeks ago in neighboring Jackson County, a depredation believed to be the work of an uncollared, untrackable wolf — one who was not part of the state’s reintroduction effort. Depredations in South Routt last year are proof that we are now living in wolf country. 

What does all of this mean? It means that if you’re a livestock producer in Routt County, you need to prepare your ranch to be visited by wolves and determine how you can make your place less attractive to them.

Deciding which tools, methods and strategies are suitable for protecting your livestock depends on many different factors. What type of livestock you need to protect and what other predators are present are important considerations. Research suggests that wolves rarely attack adult cattle and horses but tend to prey more on sheep, calves, goats and yearling cattle. 

Other key considerations are where, when and how your livestock are grazing. The best thing to do to prepare for wolves is to start by contacting your CPW district wildlife manager to help you evaluate your situation and identify what will work best for your operation.

One of the most important things to remember is that wolves are opportunistic scavengers, and the scent of a rotting carcass will attract them.

In Northeastern Oregon, biologists discovered livestock carcass pits using only satellite data from radio-collared wolves that showed frequent visits to the sites of pits. Once producers removed the pits, the wolves lost interest and eventually stopped visiting these sites. Consequently, fewer wolves in the area led to fewer depredation events.

Because carcasses are such an attractant to wolves, CSU Extension in Routt County is partnering with the Colorado Department of Agriculture to help provide funding for ranchers to properly dispose of carcasses and bury carcass pits. Reimbursement for livestock carcass management is available on a first-come, first-served basis until the total $10,000 award for Routt County is distributed — or by June 1, 2025, whichever comes first.

Producers will be reimbursed in the following amounts, not to exceed $500 per producer/entity:

1. $125 per carcass if taken to a publicly operated landfill
2. $100 per carcass if buried by the producer on their property 
3. $500 to cover/bury existing carcass piles/pits with multiple animal carcasses

Proof of carcass management is required in the application for funds and will include a landfill weigh sheet, photo of the carcass/carcasses, and photos of the burial process as applicable. Producers will be reimbursed as quickly as possible but only after all information requested has been provided.

Contact the Routt County Extension office at 970-879-0825 to find out more or email Todd Hagenbuch at thagenbuch@co.routt.co.us for a link to the online application.

For other wolf conflict management strategies, search for the “People and Predators” website at extension.colostate.edu or visit a new website filled with information from a variety of sources at wolfreadycolorado.org.