Two Colorado ranches to receive over $343,000 for wolf depredation
Colorado ranchers are feeling the bite of wolf reintroduction, but it’s the state that is footing most of the bill. On March 5, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission approved two Grand County ranch claims for a combined $343,415.37 in compensation from wolf-related livestock losses.
“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,” said CPW commission chairman Dallas May.
In 2020, Colorado voters narrowly approved a ballot initiative to reintroduce wolves to south-central Colorado to boost their populations and establish a permanent, self-sustaining population for the endangered gray wolf. CPW began the first phase of the reintroduction in December 2023, when it relocated 10 GPS-collared wolves to Summit and Grand counties. Since the first wolf release, CPW has confirmed 19 depredation events.
To compensate livestock producers’ losses due to the wolves released through CPW’s program, Colorado ranchers can apply for up to $15,000 per animal from the state’s Wolf Depredation Compensation Fund.
In 2024, the fund was allotted $350,000 from the state of Colorado’s general fund, the Species Conservation Trust Fund, the Colorado Nongame Conservation and Wildlife Restoration Cash Funds, and other funding sources for non-game species.
Not only do these funds compensate for livestock and herding dog deaths, but they also cover secondary losses related to the presence of wolves, including stress on livestock that can lead to decreased conception rates and weaning weights. CPW also offers reimbursement for veterinarian costs livestock and working dogs injured by wolves.
CPW staff manage and dispense most of the wolf loss claims; however, any claim over $20,000 must be approved by the CPW Commission.
Two claims approved for $343,000
The two claims recently approved by the commission included Farrell Livestock, located near Parshall, Colorado, and Bruchez and Sons, located near Kremmling, Colorado. Farrell Livestock will receive $287,407.63 for sheep and cattle losses and Bruchez and Sons will receive $56,007.74 for cattle losses.
The Farrell Livestock payment included remuneration for 15 cows killed by wolves in spring 2024 and its claim showed a 36.5 pounds decrease per calf over the last three years and a 2.9% reduction in conception rates due to stress from wolves in the area.
An additional $112,000 claim submitted by Farrell Livestock for missing cattle is still in negotiations. The unpaid portion of the claim argues that these missing livestock could had been killed by wolves; however, the carcasses have never been located. The commission is expected to decide on the rest of the Farrell ranch’s claim this summer.
“We could get a half million dollars out of this deal, and it wouldn’t touch the losses we actually had to sustain our operation,” Conway Farrell, the owner of Farrell Livestock, said following the approval of his claim. “We need the money to stay in business. This is money we usually would have had last fall to go through another year of ranching.”
Prior to these two claim approvals, the state had paid three separate claims adding up to over $3,850. That brings the total for wolf-related livestock claims in 2024 to more than $347,000—with less than $3,000 left in the year’s fund. There are still six claims pending, in addition to the unapproved portion of Farrell Livestock’s claim.
With a reported state budget crisis, it is unlikely that Colorado will have the funds to allot $350,000 toward wolf depredation for future years, and the joint budget committee has discussed lowering the allocation for the fund for future years. It is unknown if cattle producers will receive proper remuneration going forward if this is the case.
The Middle Park Stockgrowers Association has petitioned CPW to pause the wolf reintroduction until several demands were met by the wildlife department.
The stockgrowers association asked that CPW provide a definition of chronic depredation to be used to determine when it is appropriate to terminate “problem wolves”, develop a widespread range riding program to deter wolves from livestock and provide a rapid response team to answer reports of problem wolves immediately.
According to wildlife biologists, about 30 to 50 wolves are needed to sustain a population. According to officials, there are 29 collared wolves in Colorado and at least one uncollared wolf, believed to have migrated from Wyoming. With the state’s pocketbook and ranchers’ livelihoods on the line, the future of the gray wolf in Colorado is still an unknown.
Lacey Vilhauer can be reached at 620-227-1871 or lvilhauer@hpj.com.
(Photo by Matej Bizjak via Pexels.)
