In mid-December, a confirmed wolf kill was discovered near Walden, CO, making it the first wolf kill of livestock in Colorado in more than 70 years. A purebred replacement heifer weighing approximately 500 pounds was found dead after being attacked and eaten by a pack of wolves.
In 2020, the state voted to reintroduce wolves into Colorado by the end of 2023. The Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) Commission has been drafting a plan to reintroduce and manage gray wolves west of the Continental Divide.
After the wolf kill, the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association said it brings light to issues that must be addressed by the plan, including lethal and nonlethal methods for conflict minimization, a guaranteed funding source that allows CPW to provide tools for wolf impact prevention and compensation, and the livestock impacts that go behind death and injury.
