RBC | The Rio Blanco County Board of Commissioners held a work session last week to discuss wolf management concerns, potential bison impacts and regional water issues.
The work session began with discussion centered on ongoing frustration with Colorado’s wolf reintroduction and management program. Several participants criticized how wolf depredations are handled under the state plan, citing delays, unclear authority and what they described as political interference that slows responses to confirmed livestock losses.
Community member Lenny Klinglesmith said he believes changes in oversight may be forthcoming and questioned whether Colorado Parks and Wildlife should continue leading removal decisions.
“I think there’s enough disdain in the governor’s office for Wildlife Services that he won’t allow them to be the lead on legal removal with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,” Klinglesmith said.
Klinglesmith also criticized the length of time it takes for depredation reports to move through state and federal channels.
Commissioner Callie Scritchfield said the county has pushed for changes to streamline the process, including requesting that confirmed depredations be sent directly to Wildlife Services.
“Our request was that at the time that it’s a confirmed depredation, that information goes directly to Travis Black in Grand Junction, and he makes the call,” Scritchfield said. “We don’t need any more of that.”
Animal and Livestock Conflict Investigator Justin Ewing said that while frustration among producers is high, lethal control would still be used cautiously.
“They’re not going to just every time a wolf kills a lamb or kills a calf, you’re going to ‘off’ it instantly,” Ewing said.
Ewing emphasized the importance of wolf collaring and real-time data in making informed decisions.
“That data is invaluable,” he said. “Just knowing the direction they are when you’re actually trying to go find one, it’s huge.”
Several audience members stressed the importance of having Wildlife Services personnel locally, saying it speeds up investigations and provides expertise other counties lack.
In addition to wolves, commissioners and members of the public raised concerns about the potential expansion of bison into the county and the impacts such animals could have on agriculture, infrastructure and public lands.
Commissioner Doug Overton said that if a bison herd were to establish itself in Colorado, it could grow quickly and be difficult to manage.
“The only way that we kept them out before was killing, and we can’t do that now,” Overton said.
Speakers also said there has already been at least one confirmed incident involving bison on private property.
“There was a pretty confirmed case of the private ranch on the west end of the county where some buffalo wandered in,” one speaker said. “They came in … and decimated that area and then went back.”
Alden Vanden Brink raised concerns about potential damage to oil and gas infrastructure.
“I think the oil and gas industry is going to have the hardest time over there,” Vanden Brink said, explaining that fencing and pipelines may not withstand bison impacts. “Producers are concerned about what they’re going to do to some of their pads or sites.”
Following the wildlife discussion, commissioners heard an update from Vanden Brink, general manager of the Rio Blanco County Water Conservancy District, on conditions along the White River.
Vanden Brink described heavy sediment loads, record-low flows and growing water quality concerns.
“We’ve got areas that are actually choked out with sediment below Taylor Draw Dam,” he said.
He said monitoring revealed E. coli levels exceeding 6,000 colonies per 100 milliliters, which he described as “an outrageous number,” and noted that boaters and irrigation pumps have become stuck in sediment even during low flows.
Despite the conditions, Vanden Brink said the new turbine at Taylor Draw Dam is performing as expected.
“The new turbine is running very well, very well as it should,” he said.
Vanden Brink said the proposed reservoir project is driven by drought resiliency and the need to reduce late-season shortages.
“In Rangely on Aug. 12, there was no flow,” he said. “In Utah, there was less than eight CFS at the stream gauge, and that is a record of 112 years.”
He said domestic wells ran dry, irrigation water was unavailable and residents struggled to meet basic needs.
“You’ve got people that can’t produce products or goods of value added, or even do their dishes, their laundry, take a shower,” he said.
Agricultural surveys indicated producers would like an additional 100 to 115 days of water supply. The preferred alternative remains a 66,720-acre-foot reservoir at the Wolf Creek site, with sedimentation projected to be minimal over the project’s lifespan.
“That’s minimal over the whole life cycle of that project,” Vanden Brink said.
He acknowledged that federal permitting and repeated revisions to the project’s purpose and need statement have slowed progress.
“Anytime you bring in all these federal agencies, you just won’t throw efficiency out the window,” he said, adding that the region is facing an urgent water crisis.
The final item of the work session was a discussion with Teresia Reed regarding the American 250/Colorado 150 Commission, also known as the sesquisemiquincentennial. Plans include educational opportunities and community events throughout the year. Commissioners signed a proclamation recognizing community-led educational efforts.
Following the work session, the commissioners held their regular January meeting, approving the agenda and consent agenda without changes. The consent agenda included payroll reports, accounts payable reports, meeting minutes, motor vehicle reports and Department of Human Services registers.
Commissioners also approved the 2026 USDA APHIS Wildlife Services contract, appointed board leadership and made a series of annual appointments to boards, councils and committees. Additional actions included approving assessor contract modifications, landfill contract work, cooperative forest road agreements and tabling the purchase of a new bus for Pioneers Medical Center.
On line item AA, commissioners approved a ratification of a letter of support to President Trump backing Gov. Jared Polis and the state of Colorado’s appeal of a major disaster declaration related to the August Lee and Elk fires and subsequent flooding.
Before the vote, Commissioner Callie Scritchfield said the county chose to submit its own letter rather than signing onto another jurisdiction’s statement.
“We did our own individual letter rather than saying we support their letter because we didn’t know what their letter was going to say, but we are supporting the appeal on the disaster declaration,” Scritchfield said. “We’ve had the towns and most of the elected boards have signed on it with us and surrounding counties.”
The board later entered executive session to discuss professional services contracts and personnel matters related to the emergency manager position. The meeting adjourned with the next regular meeting scheduled for Jan. 27 in Rangely.