Colorado ranchers requesting nearly $600k to cover wolf depredation losses, funds the state doesn’t have

COLORADO (KRDO) – Colorado ranchers are requesting nearly $600,000 from the state to cover losses they say were caused by the state's wolf reintroduction program.

According to our Denver news partners, three producers have submitted claims just before the end-of-year deadline, with a price tag totaling $582,000.

That total would more than bankrupt the state's wolf depredation compensation fund, which received $350,000 in the 2024-25 budget.

Since wolves were reintroduced to Colorado in December 2023, there have been 17 confirmed cases of wolf depredations across Jackson, Routt and Grand counties.

In only four of those cases were claims submitted through the state's wolf depredation compensation fund, and those claims were small, with the largest paid claim of $1,514 for a calf in Jackson County. One has been pending since last April, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife data.