Small ranching community tears itself apart as newly
A small ranching community in Colorado has torn itself apart as newly-released wolves have butchered an astonishing amount of cattle in just days.
Conway Farrell, a rancher from Grand County, about 30 minutes outside of the Rocky Mountains, said his father discovered a dead calf on Sunday, the fifth cattle lost in 11 days.
'Yeah, I'm p****d. Everybody up here is getting edgy and at our wit's end,' Farrell told the Coloradoan. 'It feels like you’re getting slapped in the face every freakin’ minute.'
In December, state wildlife officials set wolves loose into a remote forest in Colorado's Rocky Mountains. The release stemmed from a voter-approved reintroduction program that aims to re-populate the endangered species.
Now, Farrell said tensions have risen between ranchers and Colorado Park and Wildlife officers in the town.
'We see them in the grocery store and everybody is sitting there trying to act fake and like we are all happy, yet what’s going on behind the scenes every day is as disturbing as heck,' he said.
Grand County rancher Conway Farrell said that his father discovered a dead yearling, or baby cow, on Sunday, the fifth cattle lost in 11 days
Farrell, who previously hesitated to speak out, decided that he had to as his frustration over the ongoing problem has grown. (pictured: the dead calf found on Ferrell's land)
Coloradoan Privacy Policy
Proposition 114 required the Parks and Wildlife Commission to 'develop a plan to restore and manage gray wolves in Colorado, using the best scientific data available' and 'hold statewide hearings to acquire information to be considered in developing such plan,' according to CPW.
The state wildlife agency has a policy that prevents them from sharing the movements of the wolves based on their collar numbers, including one wolf that died.
Ferrell and his fellow ranchers decided to use their own game cameras over the past months to track the predators on their own.
He said he and other ranchers have 'high confidence' that wolf 2309 and wolf 2312 from the Weneha pack are responsible for the recent attacks.
He added the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Director Jeff Davis has created a 'disgustingly huge disconnect' between ranchers and wildlife officials.
'Once Gov. Polis opened that gate to release the first wolf, to me that means they are the state's responsibility,'' he said.
'But if you put their fladry up, in the agreement it says the state is not liable for anything and it is your responsibility. How fair is that?'
On Tuesday, the Colorado Department of Agriculture said that it will dedicate up to $20,000 toward 'nonlethal deterrents' to the Middle Park Stockgrowers Association, including nighttime patrols and herd protection for ranchers and their cattle.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife told the Coloradoan: 'CPW will again review this specific situation with USFWS to ensure actions are in compliance with all state and federal laws and regulations and the Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan.'
Ferrell emphasized it also hasn't been easy to deal with the presence of the officers around Kremmling, a small town with a population of just 1,500.
'We can't even go to school to pick up our kids without running into one of these guys,' he explained.
In December, wolf packs were released as part of a voter-approved reintroduction program that aims to re-populate the endangered species
Ferrell said tensions have risen between ranchers and Colorado Park and Wildlife officers since the wolves were set free
'I don't believe in stress, but I'm starting to.'
'You just get up and go to work. Yeah, you got problems but you fix them every day. But they have us to where we can’t fix the problem we have,' he added.
In December, two juvenile female wolves, two males and one adult male, were released after they were captured in Oregon and came from Oregon's Five Points Pack, Noregaard Pack and Wenaha Pack.
Prior to being released, the CPW collected genetic material – tissue and blood samples – before fitting each animal with a GPS satellite collar for tracking.
The wolves were also given vaccines and treated for endo and ecto-parasites.
According to the Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan, the wolves can travel up to 140 miles from where they were freed.
In February, Wyoming ranchers started to worry about the wolves' presence after they were released near the state border line.
'Wolves can travel 50 miles a day, (so) that doesn’t surprise me at all,' Howard Cooper told Cowboy State Daily.
Wolves have been spotted in Walden - just 20 miles from Wyoming - meaning the predators could theoretically cross into the Cowboy State.
Like Ferrell, Cooper opposes the reintroduction of gray wolves into the neighboring state and has even backed up a lobbyist group that aims to prevent further wolf releases.
In Colorado it is illegal for the general public to hunt or kill wolves as they are are federally protected.
But by stepping over the line, a wolf that enters Wyoming's 53 million-acre 'predator zone' - encompassing roughly 85 percent of the state - goes from a 'State Endangered' animal to one that can be shot on sight.
In March, a pack of recently-released wolves were tracked making their way towards state lines and edging closer to the Wyoming border.
Two wolves were confirmed to have recently entered Moffat County, located less than 50 miles away from the Wyoming border.
In February, Wyoming ranchers started to worry about the wolves' presence after they were released near the state border line
In the state of Colorado it is illegal for the general public to hunt or kill wolves as they are are federally protected
John Michael Williams, a Colorado resident who administers a 'Colorado Wolf Tracker' Facebook page estimated that the duo would potentially cross the border four to six weeks after they were spotted.
'If I had a crystal ball, what do I think? I think that sometime within the next four to six weeks, we’ll have one cross, or maybe a couple cross over.'
'And I think we’ll see some of them getting shot,' Williams told Cowboys State Daily.
The Colorado Sun reported that at least one wolf was killed after crossing into Wyoming.
The publication cited reports by ranchers and other stakeholders, but Wyoming officials declined to confirm the death.
Rather, they claimed the information was confidential under an 11-year-old state policy intended to mask the identity of people who legally kill wolves in the state.
Reintroduction has proven to be a contentious point. Gray wolves were nearly hunted to extinction in the 20th century.
In 1905, the federal government infected the animals with mange. A decade later, Congress passed a law requiring their elimination from federal land.
By 1960, the animals had been all but wiped out from their former range - under the same pretense, that they posed a threat to livestock and big game.