The Colorado Department of Agriculture has partnered with Colorado Parks & Wildlife, USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services and Colorado State University Extension to bring trainings to Colorado livestock producers related to coexistence with wolves and the highly effective non-lethal deterrent methods available to them through the State of Colorado.

The meeting will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Steamboat Springs Community Center, 1605 Lincoln Ave. This is part of a larger effort to assist producers with implementation of non-lethal conflict mitigation tools, including range riding, carcass disposal, guardian dogs and a flexible grant program.

Through this partnership, CDA is working to proactively provide training to livestock producers across the state before calving and lambing season, which usually occurs in early spring of each year. 

Supporting Colorado ag producers as they get ready for new calves and lambs in the spring is the goal of the collaborative meeting. 

The training is a joint effort between the partner organizations and cover a variety of topics, including:
    • Information on wolf depredation investigations
    • Range riding
    • Carcass management
    • Using livestock protection dogs

CDA, in conjunction with Working Circle, is also offering invitation-only hands-on stockmanship clinics in communities across Colorado. The first training was held in Jackson County, with 17 producers in attendance. During the stockmanship clinics, producers have a chance to learn Bud Williams stockmanship techniques and will get to practice these techniques hands-on with cattle during the second day of the clinic. Producers interested in attending stockmanship training should contact the CDA Non-lethal Conflict Reduction Program Manager to learn about future opportunities. 

Additionally, CDA is offering grants to help producers implement non-lethal wolf conflict reduction measures. Grants are available to Colorado livestock associations or other organizations that provide support to multiple producers. Interested organizations can apply at ag.colorado.gov/wolves. 

For questions about the trainings, stockmanship clinics or grants, please contact Dustin Shiflett, CDA Non-ethal Conflict Reduction Program Manager at dustin.shiflett@state.co.us or call 720-902-1222.