The HT asked Travis Duncan, Public Information Supervisor for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, for comment on some reader-generated questions after last week’s report of possible wolf depredation near Meeker. His responses follow, edited for space and clarity.
A potential new wolf pack is being investigated by Colorado Parks and Wildlife after the depradation of 18 calves southeast of Meeker.
How far from Meeker did the depredations occur?
The incident occurred approximately 15 miles southeast of Meeker on White River National Forest lands.
How long will it take to confirm whether wolves killed these calves?
CPW wildlife officers will make the determination, likely within the next few weeks. The injuries to some of the calves are consistent with those that would occur in a typical wolf depredation incident. CPW wildlife officers have put up game cameras and we’re looking for tracks and scat to confirm this was a wolf depredation.
If it was wolves, what happens with the reintroduction plan?
This incident will not affect the Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan.
On Feb. 10, 2022, the U.S. District Court vacated the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s (USFWS) 2020 rule delisting gray wolves across the lower 48 states. The ruling returns management authority of gray wolves in Colorado to USFWS. Colorado Parks and Wildlife will continue its planning efforts to meet the deadlines directed by state statute to restore and manage gray wolves in Colorado no later than Dec. 31, 2023. The reintroduction planning will now require a close partnership with our USFWS partners and our management plans will be subject to federal approval.
The USFWS is conducting a NEPA analysis as they consider the drafting of a 10(j) Rule that could designate wolves in Colorado as an Experimental Population. If this rule is finalized, it would likely relax some of the prohibitions that are otherwise present for a federally protected species. Generally, a 10j rule coincides with a reintroduction effort.
If wolves colonize on their own and a population is established (the USFWS uses the 2/2/2 definition — two packs raising at least two pups to the end of the calendar year for two consecutive years), the management flexibility that comes with a 10j ruling would not apply. That said, we have not documented any reproduction for this year, so the timeline is essentially set to zero. The timeline that the USFWS has provided to us indicates that the 10j Rule will be final prior to the Dec. 31, 2023, deadline that we are working under with the state statute.
If this is a wolf pack, could it be an offshoot of the Jackson County pack or Moffat County wolves?
There have been no confirmed wolf reports from this [Meeker] area. There were unconfirmed wolf sightings from the public late last fall in the general area where the depredation occurred. CPW wildlife officers put up game cameras, but recorded no evidence of wolf activity and there have been no further reported sightings.
If these are wolves, which has yet to be concluded, they are not from the North Park pack. Seven members of the North Park pack have been sighted recently in Jackson County.
It is important to note that no wolf reintroductions have taken place yet in Colorado and recent depredation incidents are not related to or a result of wolf reintroduction efforts in Colorado.
By NIKI TURNER – editor@editorht1885.com
