The continuing effort to pay claims tied to wolf depredations could take on a new form, allowing ranchers to use their skills in caring for injured livestock instead of relying on often-unavailable veterinarians.

The veterinarian shortage in Colorado is becoming critical. In 2021, the US Department of Agriculture identified 25 counties on the Western Slope with critical veterinary care shortages, including Garfield, Mesa, Rio Blanco, Delta, Montrose, Ouray, and San Miguel counties.

According to the state’s wolf watershed map, wolves have already migrated into Rio Blanco County. Last week, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said one of the 15 wolves that came from British Columbia was found dead in northwestern Colorado.

At the most recent meeting of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission, a claim from rancher Don Gittleson of Jackson County for $2,542 in wolf depredation claims was made. Tucked into that claim was $435 for the care of a yearling injured by a wolf. Instead of euthanizing the animal, a recommendation from a veterinarian, Gittleson decided to try to save the yearling. He spent the next three months administering medications and treating the leg wound caused by the wolf.

“This was not an animal I needed to treat once or twice and then be done,” Gittleson told the commission. “It took three months to get her back to being sound.”

A year later, the yearling is now a heifer and has produced her first offspring.

Had Gittleson decided not to follow the recommendation to euthanize the yearling, the cost to the state would have been thousands of dollars. Instead, he decided to seek $435, at $15 per hour, and far less than the time he spent, for his labor in treating the yearling.

State commission rules only allow for reimbursement of licensed veterinarian expenses and don’t allow for labor costs, according to CPW commissioners who spoke to Gittleson and reviewed his claim during the May 7 meeting. But it became clear that the policy might be penny-wise and pound-foolish.

Gittleson said that if the vet had to come out and treat the animal, the state would be obligated to pay at least $3,000 more in costs.

But Gittleson also noted that it will soon be harder to get a vet to treat wounded animals. “It will be up to the producers to do that,” he said.

That struck a chord with several CPW commissioners who are also ranchers and others who aren’t.

Commissioner Karen Bailey of Boulder was the first to acknowledge what’s coming. “I am hypersensitive to the reality that access to vet care is a challenge across the state and will increase over time,” she said. Bailey advocated for vet-certified labor, subject to a vet’s approval when it’s hard for a vet to come to the ranch.

Commission Chair Dallas May of Lamar, also a rancher, agreed with the difficulty of getting large animal vet care. He said the two vet clinics in his area, one of which only treats small animals, are overwhelmed. None of the clinics has facilities to keep animals. When that’s necessary, it’s a trip to Colorado State University in Fort Collins, which would exceed the cost of the animal.

May said that when he needs to take an animal to a vet, it’s 100 miles each way.

He applauded Gittleson for his “extreme efforts” to save the yearling. “Anybody who cares about animal wellness or humaneness would have to applaud this decision,” May said, acknowledging that the costs Gittleson submitted were likely extremely low.

However, May was also worried that approving the claim could open the door for labor claims.

According to Commissioner Tai Jacober, a rancher in Pitkin County, the solution is a distinction between vet care and labor outside of that. “We are our vets 90% of the time,” Jacober said. “We need to figure out a way within statute to allow labor as vet services by the ranchers themselves. That’s how we take care of it.”

Commissioner Murphy Robinson of Denver worries about claims that may not be “reasonable.” He suggests CPW staff develop a “floor and ceiling” for a labor rate.

As to the issue with the rules, Gittleson pointed out that CPW doesn’t even follow its own rules regarding the wolf reintroduction plan. “You modify it to your purposes,” he told the commission.

Suppose the commission moves forward with the staff recommendation to reject the labor portion of the claim. In that case, that’s going to result in a lot more money being spent, said Commissioner Eden Vardy of Aspen. His recent vet call at his property was $250 per hour. “We’re able to resolve this at less than 10% of that cost,” he said. “If we don’t use our discretion,” producers won’t use their skill set and instead bring in professional services that CPW would have to pay for, he added.

While commissioners signaled that they favored a settlement with Gittleson, allowing them to pay the entire claim and resolve the matter, that’s not where things ended at Gittleson’s behest.

He told the commission he could wait on the claim while CPW devises a solution for labor costs tied to veterinary skills. “I do not need payment this minute,” he said. This needs to be resolved.”