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Colorado wildlife commission to review monetary claims from ranchers for wolf-related livestock damage

By and 02/27/2025 | updated 7 months ago

Next week, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission is scheduled to review more than $343,000 in claims submitted by ranchers for damage caused by the state’s reintroducing wolves to their livestock herds.

It’s one of more than $453,000 in claims the commission will consider during its March 5-6 meeting. The other $100,000 concerns damage caused by bears and elk overgrazing.

The commission staff, however, recommended that two claims unrelated to wolves be denied.

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All claims are part of a consent agenda for the commission’s March 5-6 meeting.

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The CPW agenda includes claims tied to wolf depredation, including those submitted by two ranchers who lost dozens of livestock to wolves and losses tied to livestock with lower conception and market weights compared to previous years. Both types of claims are allowed under the state’s wolf compensation law.

The two ranchers, Conway Farrell and Bruchez & Sons, both Grand County ranchers, submitted more than $581,000 in claims at the end of December for losses due to wolves. The claims to be reviewed next week are part of the total submitted by those two ranchers.

The state’s wolf compensation fund has just $350,000 available, although lawmakers have said claims could be paid from other sources should the wolf fund be depleted.

The state released 10 wolves in December 2023 in Grand and Summit counties, and within four months, those wolves were killing livestock, primarily young calves and sheep, in Grand County. Several wolves relocated to Colorado from Oregon came from packs with a history of killing livestock, despite the state’s wolf management plan stating that wolves with that kind of history would not be brought to Colorado.

Three of the original 10 wolves from Oregon have since died, including the male of the Copper Creek pack, believed to be responsible for much of the livestock kills in Grand County. His mate and four pups, along with 15 wolves from British Columbia, have since been released in Eagle and Pitkin counties.

A state wolf map released this week shows the wolves are on the move, reaching watersheds on the Colorado-Utah border, and a female who has been sighted in Fremont and Park counties.

An uncollared wolf killed a pregnant cow in Jackson County on Feb. 5.

A bill to allow ranchers to keep their identities confidential when submitting compensation claims won preliminary approval in the state House Thursday. Senate Bill 38 won a 35-0 vote from the state Senate earlier this month and is expected to pass the House for its final vote, possibly as soon as Friday. The measure is sponsored by House Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, whose district includes virtually every county where wolves have killed livestock.

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Marianne Goodland

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