The Middle Park Stockgrowers Association received an additional $28,000 to fund nonlethal deterrents to prevent wolf conflicts with livestock in June. The Colorado Department of Agriculture and Colorado Parks and Wildlife provided the funds.

The $28,000 will support an additional nighttime range rider, as well as other on-the-ground deterrents. Since wolves were released on the Western Slope, 15 cattle and nine sheep have been killed by wolves.

“We were not prepared for the negative impacts that are happening, but the producers are having ongoing discussions about solutions with CDA (Colorado Department of Agriculture) and CPW (Colorado Parks and Wildlife),” stated Tim Ritschard, president of the Middle Park Stockgrowers Association, in a news release. “We appreciate the assistance. This is an important first step in our partnership as we continue to work together through this process.”

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Colorado Parks and Wildlife Director Jeff Davis stated that he’s thankful the Colorado Department of Agriculture, Parks and Wildlife and the stockgrowers association are working together to get more deterrents to agriculture communities.

“This additional funding will help producers in Middle Park and surrounding communities ensure they have the nonlethal tools in their conflict mitigation toolbox to protect their livestock and minimize conflict with wolves,” Davis stated in the release.

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Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture Kate Greenberg also applauded collaboration with the stockgrowers in the release. Greenberg said nonlethal tools are working; that employing multiple tools will reduce conflict and ensure resilient ranches well into the future.

Greenberg added that the agencies “…remain committed to not only deploying those resources quickly, but making sure they fit the needs of each agricultural community we serve.”

According to the release, funding for the nonlethal conflict mitigation tools comes from Parks and Wildlife’s wolf depredation and conflict fund. No hunting or fishing license dollars were allocated for this. The funding is in addition to the $20,000 the Polis administration gave to the stockgrowers association in April.

Meeting with the Middle Park Stockgrowers

As cattle in Grand County were killed by wolves, the stockgrowers sent the Parks and Wildlife Commission multiple letters, requesting that two chronically depredating wolves be lethally removed by officials — or even relocated to a wolf sanctuary. But with a voter-mandated requirement to restore a self-sustaining wolf population, the agency’s hands were tied.

In response to the letters, Davis wrote that the wolves would not be killed, but nonlethal tools would be provided to mitigate conflicts.

In June, Davis and Greenberg visited with members of the stockgrowers association. Parks and Wildlife Commission Chair Dallas May also met with the association. Shortly after the meeting, the commission held a public meeting in Winter Park.

In Winter Park, Davis reflected on his meeting with the stockgrowers, saying that these are “tough times for ranchers in Middle Park. Words can’t describe what those folks feel, what they’re experiencing.”

Davis added that the agency’s officials are experiencing pressure, just as agriculture producers are feeling pressure in uncharted territory — this is the country’s first voter-mandated wolf reintroduction. Stakeholders must work to bring the species to a sustainable population. Then management (including lethal removal of wolves) may be more flexible. 

“With our first pack of released wolves, and only having essentially 11 individual animals in Colorado, it’s more complicated now than I think it will be in the future,” Davis said.

How are nonlethal deterrents working?

While nonlethal tools can prevent livestock depredations, the Middle Park Stockgrowers Association and other ranchers have expressed concerns that wolves can learn to outsmart these tools once they realize they won’t be hurt. For example, wolves in Middle Park were documented lying down after being hazed by cracker shells, instead of running.

In a May 23, 2024, letter to Parks and Wildlife, the stockgrowers wrote that ranchers will continue to use nonlethal deterrents, but there’s another unintended consequence. If a rancher pushes a wolf away with tools such as cracker shells or fox lights, the wolf travels to their neighbor’s livestock.

In the letter, the stockgrowers stated that “two wolves are losing their fear, and becoming bolder, around humans.” The stockgrowers believe that a male and female pair are responsible for numerous depredations in Grand County. This pair has produced the first confirmed wolf pup in Colorado since the reintroduction.

Don Gittleson, a North Park rancher who has experienced depredations from a different pack of wolves, agreed with the stockgrowers’ assessment that reintroduced wolves are less reactive to nonlethal tools.  

In a June 15 meeting with Parks and Wildlife, ranchers and other stakeholders, Gittleson said that “those wolves are not afraid of people. That’s not a good sign for the rancher, cattle or the wolves.”

Gittleson has employed a variety of nonlethal tools on his ranch to keep the North Park wolves at bay, including cracker shells and fladry. The wolves that live in the North Park area naturally migrated from Wyoming.

“The closest in daylight we would see them — very rarely — 300 yards and they’re running,” Gittleson said, explaining the difference between North Park wolves and reintroduced wolves. “Those other (wolves) are not running and way closer than 300 yards.”

The last confirmed depredation in Grand County was July 28, involving 8 sheep. The latest cattle depredation that occurred in Routt County was July 18, involving one calf.

More staff are needed to give protection to producers

The department of agriculture and Parks and Wildlife are currently working to get more boots on the ground to help ranchers with nonlethal deterrents. Parks and Wildlife recently hired five new livestock damage conflict mitigation specialists.

In a news release, the agency stated these five staff members will assist Adam Baca, Parks and Wildlife’s wolf conflict coordinator, to expand the current wolf conflict mitigation program and assist with livestock depredation investigations.

Additionally, the department of agriculture has hired Dustin Shiflett to manage its nonlethal conflict reduction program in the animal health division. According to the department, Shiflett has been working in the agricultural and conservation areas for nearly two decades. Shiflett will hire two more employees for the department’s program to work directly with producers.

According to the department of agriculture, these employees will work with communities where wolves are living, as well as agriculture communities that have not yet had wolves present.

“We continue to stand alongside Colorado’s agricultural communities, regardless of whether they have experienced wolf-related impacts, so those communities can implement operational changes, trainings and workshops, understand the suite of tools CDA and CPW have available,” Greenberg stated in the news release.

While no tool is foolproof at preventing depredations, range riders can be a successful deterrent — if there are enough to adequately monitor the landscape.

Before receiving the additional $28,000 for a second range rider, the stockgrowers have employed one range rider since April 30. This was the only rider hired to prevent wolf conflicts in Colorado.

“The problem is that the range rider can cover only a limited area, and wolves just move to another ranch,” the stockgrowers association wrote in a letter to Parks and Wildlife.

During the commission’s meeting in Winter Park on June 12, commissioner Marie Haskett expressed that 20-30 range riders are needed to be effective in wolf territory. This number was based on conversations she had with commissioners in other states.

According to May, range riders are the most effective deterrent against wolves; the Western Landowners Alliance has done extensive research on the success of range riders.

“But one range rider is woefully inadequate, it’s not sustainable,” May continued. “In order to have a real impact for nonlethal there needs to be more. I just encourage CDA, CPW, the state of Colorado to put more of a focus on putting range riders on the ground.”

This is part two in a series from Sky-Hi News about wolves in Colorado.