“Wild Wolf” Fears Infiltrate Teller County

Local Residents/Ranchers Warned About New Sightings

Trevor Phipps

As unrestrained wolves remain a hot topic across the state, the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife (CPW) recently reported that a wandering wolf, part of the state’s reintroduction program, nearly made its way into Teller County.

And to make matters worse for local ranchers, CPW just released 20 more wolves on the Western slope, but south of I-70 this time. This means local wolf sightings could make an uptick sooner than many local residents had hoped.

As a result, wolf concerns took center stage at a recent county commissioners meeting, with a CPW official acknowledging that these wild animals could be entering Teller County in the near future. This has some area ranchers crying foul play and worrying about their cattle and livestock becoming easy prey for the wolves. Already, the program has resulted in much livestock depredation, with state wildlife officials receiving considerable criticism for the way this effort has been  managed.

The overall goal of the CPW presentation, according to the state agency, is to provide transparency from the department regarding the impacts of the heavily disputed (voter-approved) wolf reintroduction effort.  This program got implemented following a previous state ballot issue, approved by a very tiny margin.

CPW Wildlife Manager Tim Kroening informed residents during a commissioners meeting last month that a female wolf that almost made it into Teller County. Darlene Koebel, founder of the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center in Divide, also provided more details about the wolf who nearly made it into the county, and the wild wolf population in general.

Since the program started, Teller County has mostly been insulated by the controversy, with most sightings and the reported killing of cattle, occurring in other parts of the state. But that may no longer be the case.

The main topic of discussion at a previous commissioners’ meeting was the fact that the most recently released wolf tracking map, showing that a wolf nearly crossed the Park and Teller County borders before changing directions south into Fremont County.

One female wolf, who officials believe is Wolf #2304, crossed south of Interstate 70 and headed into the Leadville area. “She worked her way down the Arkansas River basin from Leadville and then she was hanging out on the west side of Buena Vista for about five days,” Kroening said. “Then she made a little walkabout when she went over Trout Creek Pass and came down to Black Mountain. Then … she went down to Hwy. 50 and then to Hwy. 9 and she is now back in the Black Mountain area.”

Kroening then explained that the collars the wolves wear don’t track the wolves in real time. Instead, the collars only send information every four hours, and then they upload unto a satellite every 16 hours. But Kroening said, that the upload process doesn’t always happen and they lose the wolf for a period of time.

“We can say that she is in elk habitat,” Kroening explained. “When she goes out of elk habitat, she is going back and seeking it again. She has killed a cow elk that we know of and we don’t know of any livestock depredations that she has had.”

Ever since the wolves came into Park County, CPW officials having been working hard to notify Teller County ranchers. He said that ranchers need to be prepared because it is only a matter of time before wolves will be in the county.

Defense Options Available for Local Ranchers

During his presentation before the commissioners, Kroening reminded the public that wolves are illegal to kill since they are considered an endangered species. The state recently stopped allowing hunting at night to prevent people from accidentally shooting wolves, thinking they were coyotes which can be hunted.

These comments did little to appease some ranchers, who attended the  meeting. Throughout the state, relations between ranchers and the CPW have deteriorated to a dangerous level due to the wolf reintroduction program.

One local sheep herder asked Kroening if he had the right to shoot and kill a wolf, if he caught the animal attacking one of his sheep. Kroening said that it is not legal to kill a wolf, but he said that he is willing to talk with ranchers about the options they have (like hazing) to prevent wolves from depredating livestock.

According Koebel who has spent time advocating for wolves across the state, there are several ways people can prevent livestock depredations and she is confident that wolves can coexist in Colorado. She said ranchers can use lights and fladry (flapping flags or lights used to scare predators) as wolves are scared of anything that is not natural to them.

Koebel said that the wolf who has been roaming around Park and Teller Counties is healthy. “She is a female that has been out on her own for close to a year,” Koebel said. “She is more than likely looking for a mate. February is mating season.

Despite the ongoing controversy over this program, Koebel and Kroening both tried to inform residents on why wolves belong in Colorado. “I think Colorado’s reintroduction of wolves makes a significant step towards wildlife conservation and ecosystem restoration,” Koebel said. “You can expect to see positive changes in Colorado’s ecosystem as wolves play a crucial role in controlling the populations of other species.”