The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission on Wednesday unanimously approved two large claims related to the killing of livestock by wolves relocated to Colorado from Oregon in December, 2023.

The claims paid were not paid in full, and a third claim never made it onto the agenda.

Two of the three known claims came from two ranching operations in Grand County. The largest — for $422,000 — was from Conway Farrell. The commission approved, at the recommendation of staff, paying $287,000 and holding off, for now, on the rest of the claims.

Travis Black, the northwest regional manager for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, said the agency and the Farrells reached an agreement on the larger amount in order to process a prompt payment. 

Another $112,000 is for missing animals. That amount is still being negotiated between the rancher and the state, according to Black. He didn’t address the last $23,000 in claims.  

Cattle prices are high right now, Black said, which is what’s driving part of the cost.

Claims for lost livestock do not allow compensation for every animal. Producers can claim a percentage of those lost animals but how that is determined is unclear. The award percentages ranged from less than 50% to 75%.

Farrell told Colorado Politics in December that his cattle do not spread out in the pastures and are constantly stressed because they fear the wolves. They’re not seeking ground with fresh feed and will congregate together, instead of scattering in the pasture, he said. In some places, he added, cattle must be pushed to other areas after being scared by wolves.

The change in feeding habits has resulted in lower birth weights for the calves, the rancher said. When the cattle are taken to market, on average, they each weigh 40 pounds lighter than cattle from a year ago. Farrell said a neighbor experienced a similar situation, with cattle weighing 29 pounds less on average.

Farrell said wolves cost his ranch almost $600,000 in 2024, including hunting losses of $140,000. That’s not sustainable, he added.

The second claim is from Bruchez and Sons, also in Grand County, for more than $100,000 for a dead calf, a necropsy, 57 lost livestock, and low conception rates for cows. The commission approved a payment of $56,008.74. Black did not explain the difference.

However, a CPW spokesperson said both the Farrell and Bruchez claims amounts were negotiated and agreed upon with those producers.

A third claim also was submitted in December for $42,922 for one cow lost to a wolf and for lower conception and market weights, but that was not included in Wednesday’s claims. 

Commission Chair Dallas May, who is a rancher in southeastern Colorado, wasn’t satisfied with the amounts approved.

“The value claimed on these cows is less than I feel it should be,” May said, because these are high altitude cows “that you can’t get somewhere else.”

He estimated the value placed on the cows was 25% less than it should have been and the public needs to understand what these lowered pricing does to a ranching operation.

“The request for payment on this is not a bonus to anybody. It’s simply trying to recover some of the costs that have been lost and actually should have been to these producers last fall,” he said.

“This is not somebody asking for a bonus or a dividend. This is something that’s simply trying to help people stay in business,” May added.

The amounts approved Wednesday also included two other claims unrelated to wolves. The state’s wolf compensation fund receives $350,000 annually, so Wednesday’s claims will likely deplete what’s left in the fund, given that 15 other claims were submitted throughout 2024.

The state’s wolf depredation website says all 15 claims are pending, even some that were submitted a year ago.

Calving season is now underway in some parts of Colorado and the wolves are also getting ready. Last month, an uncollared wolf killed a pregnant cow in Jackson County.

The wolves brought from Oregon over a year ago came from packs with a history of killing livestock, despite the state wolf plan’s recommendation that “(no) wolf should be translocated that has a known history of chronic depredation, and sourcing from geographic areas with chronic depredation events should not occur.”

The state has also brought in 15 wolves from British Columbia, releasing them in Eagle and Pitkin counties. 

A ballot measure to end the wolf restoration program and repeal Proposition 114 — the measure that resulted in the wolf restoration program and which received backing from largely from Front Range voters — has been approved by the state Title Board for the 2026 general election.