Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced Tuesday evening that it had begun an operation to capture and relocate the Copper Creek wolf pack in Grand County. This pack has been responsible for the majority of depredations since Colorado reintroduced gray wolves in December 2023. 

“The decision to capture and relocate the Copper Creek pack was made with the careful consideration of multiple factors and feedback from many different stakeholders,” Jeff Davis, the wildlife agency’s director, said in a statement. “Our options in this unique case were very limited, and this action is by no means a precedent for how CPW will resolve wolf-livestock conflict moving forward. The ultimate goal of the operation is to relocate the pack to another location while we assess our best options for them to continue to contribute to the successful restoration of wolves in Colorado.”

Colorado Parks and Wildlife will undergo the relocation effort with support from federal partners, following the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s rules for experimental populations. 

In the provided statement, Colorado Parks and Wildlife stated it would not share the location of the wolf pack or the operation, “for the safety of these animals and staff.”

“(Colorado Parks and Wildlife) will provide more information and details at the conclusion of the operation,” it concluded. 

The Copper Creek pack in Grand County was the first and so far only confirmed pack from the reintroduced wolves since a litter was confirmed in June. As many as three pups have been confirmed to be a part of the pack.

The adult pair in the pack have caused the “main issues in depredation,” Reid Dewalt, deputy director of policy for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, told the commission last Friday.

“We have had a few other depredations from the other wolves but nothing to the level that we’ve seen in Middle Park,” he said. 

Since the wolves were released, the wildlife agency has confirmed that wolves have killed 15 cattle and nine sheep. 

The decision to relocate the pack comes less than a month after the agency denied a chronic depredation permit in the region. On July 31, Colorado Parks and Wildlife denied a chronic depredation permit that was requested by the Middle Park Stockgrowers in May. A depredation permit would allow producers to protect herds by killing wolves that were chronic or consistent depredators. The permit would be issued for 45 days. 

Before requesting the permit, the Middle Park group had sent Colorado Parks and Wildlife numerous letters requesting help, including asking the agency to lethally remove the two problem wolves or to relocate them to a sanctuary.  

As Colorado Parks and Wildlife continues to manage the 11 wolves currently in the state, it is preparing to release an additional 10 to 15 wolves this fall or winter as part of reintroduction efforts. While the agency no longer has a source for the wolves, it indicated last week that it will again be releasing the new wolves into the state’s northern zone.