TAKE A LOOK: CPW provides update on second year of gray wolf reintroduction
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – In January, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) completed its second year of reintroducing gray wolves to Colorado as part of the state's Wolf Restoration and Management Plan, capturing 15 wolves from British Columbia and releasing them in Eagle and Pitkin counties.
Now, the agency is providing a firsthand look into the capturing operations in Canada with newly released photos and video, alongside the latest updates to its wolf management plans.
VIEW THE GALLERY HERE: CPW provides firsthand look at wolf capture operations in Canada
Latest wolf reintroduction updates
'Range Riders' program aims to reduce conflict between wolves, ranchers
To mitigate conflict between wolves and ranchers concerned about depredation, CPW is creating a "Range Riders" program. The range riders will patrol ranches day and night to help and protect livestock from wolves.
The program's introduction comes after ranchers have continuously raised concerns to CPW about the reintroduced wolves preying on their livestock. As of February 2025, there have been 17 confirmed cases of wolf depredations, involving 27 animals.
The agency has already started recruiting people for the role. CPW says it has received over 100 applications and is working to contract 12 riders for the 2025 on-range season, which lasts from late April to the end of September.
Once all positions have been filled, CPW will run a specialized training, connecting the riders with local communities and ensure they are trained to support ranchers at short notice.
Tracking wolf movements
As the wolf population in Colorado grows, CPW expects the animals to migrate and establish new territories in the state.
According to CPW, recent wolf collar data shows that one wolf has made broad movements into the western portion of Mesa County. Another wolf traversed through a watershed including Lake, Park, Chaffee and Fremont counties, possibly even coming as south as near Cañon City.
READ MORE: Colorado wolves seen as far south as Fremont County for first time since reintroduction
CPW said wolves are "habitat generalist," meaning they can thrive in a wide variety of environmental conditions and habitats as long as prey is available. Because of that, CPW anticipates that wolves will distribute themselves across the state widely over time.
CPW said their field staff will inform ranchers in the area when wolves are spending time nearby, and work to identify and deploy deterrence measure when needed.
CPW relies on sightings from the public to know if other wolves are being seen in Colorado that have migrated in from other states. The agency encourages anyone who believes they have seen a wolf to fill out the wolf sighting form.
