Wolves released by way of a controversial ballot initiative in Colorado, opposed by RMEF, have experienced a rocky start, creating headaches for wildlife managers and ranchers alike and seeing mortalities in their ranks.
In late August 2024, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) announced it was trying to capture and relocate wolves from the Copper Creek wolf pack, which formed from animals CPW released in Grand County in December 2023. Months later, the pack had killed nine cattle and an equal number of sheep.
In early September 2024, CPW announced that wildlife managers had captured the two adult wolves and four pups that made up the pack. One adult, emaciated from injuries sustained before the capture, died shortly after.
The remaining five wolves from among those recaptured from the Copper Creek Pack and 15 new wolves hailing from British Columbia were released into Eagle and Pitkin counties in January 2025. Since the latest releases, several of the reintroduced wolves have died. A Colorado wolf traveled across state lines and was killed by the USDA’s Wildlife Services agents in Wyoming after being suspected of preying on livestock. Another male gray wolf, number 2513, died on April 9 in Wyoming. And not long after, CPW issued a statement saying, “Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists received a mortality alert for female gray wolf 2514-BC on April 20. The agency, in cooperation with the National Park Service, has confirmed the mortality took place in Rocky Mountain National Park.” These latest two deaths came from wolves that were among the 15 animals translocated from British Columbia to Colorado in January of 2025.
To the west in California, new packs have also been getting into conflicts with ranchers. Wolves first ventured into the state on their own starting in 2011, and have since established at least seven packs in Lassen, Shasta, Plumas, Sierra, Nevada, Siskiyou and Tulare counties. In its quarterly wolf management update for April through June, California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) reported 30 new pups were born, bringing the state’s estimated wolf population to just over 60.
CDFW also reported in 2024 that wolves had killed at least 29 livestock animals in the state, including four lambs, a llama and 24 head of cattle. The Whaleback Pack in Siskiyou County was the primary offender, responsible for 18 losses. From 2022 through early 2024, a pilot program awarded producers a total of $3.1 million, for direct loss of livestock, cost of nonlethal hazing methods and cost of the impacts of wolf presence on livestock.
It’s worth noting that California’s livestock depredation numbers are nearly on par with Montana, where an estimated 1,100 wolves roam in more than 180 packs, but killed 32 livestock animals in 2023, including 23 head of cattle and eight sheep, according to Wildlife Services. But in Montana, landowners have wide latitude to kill wolves that threaten livestock, domestic dogs or human safety. Wolves have also now been hunted and trapped for 15 years, with 254 taken in 2023. During that same period, wolf license sales generated more than $285,000 to support wolf monitoring and management.
In 2021, the Montana Legislature passed a law directing Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks to reduce wolf populations to a “sustainable” level, and wildlife officials are working to meet that requirement while ensuring a healthy state-managed population, said Quentin Kujala, FWP Chief of Conservation Policy. Statewide wolf numbers have remained steady, however. “We are seeing declines in the estimated number of wolves and wolf packs in Regions 3 and 4, which suggests the combination of hunting, trapping and conflict management removals can effectively reduce wolf numbers.”
In 2024, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation asked a federal court to join a lawsuit supporting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in opposition to environmentalists seeking to place gray wolves in the Northern Rockies back under Endangered Species Act protections. And in September 2024, the push to delist wolves nationwide got another boost as the Biden Administration requested that the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals revive a 2020 rule that lifted remaining Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves across the United States.
If successful, the ruling would place gray wolves under state management nationwide and restore hunting to states in the Great Lakes Region after a court order brought it to halt in February 2022. Minnesota alone is home to almost 3,000 wolves in more than 630 packs, the largest population in the Lower 48 states. Yet hunting and trapping ceased there and next door in Wisconsin, where a little over 1,000 wolves roam after environmental groups successfully sued to reinstate protections for wolves. Those protections will remain in place pending the court’s decision.
Back in Colorado, RMEF is engaging CPW, which has since finalized its wolf management plan. RMEF is supporting legislation aimed at science-based management and providing tools for wildlife managers. After decades of working with wolves in other states, RMEF has a blueprint for its approach, says Blake Henning, RMEF chief conservation officer. “Now that wolves are on the ground, we’re going to contribute dollars to science, research and monitoring,” he said. “Once those populations are at what the management plan calls for, we’re going to want to see tools in place, whether through hunting or trapping, to manage their numbers.”
