Senator Roberts warns CPW to fix the wolf reintroduction program or the money stops

April 2, 2025 Shannon Lukens

state-legislature-dylan-roberts-screen-shot

By Shannon Lukens.

Colorado Senator Dylan Roberts didn’t hold back on the Senate floor Wednesday, warning the state to fix the wolf reintroduction program, or they’ll lose the funding for it.

At the State Capitol, the Senate is discussing the budget and footnotes to that budget. One is SB25-206 which is the Long Appropriations Bill and the payment of expenses in the State of Colorado for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025.

That footnote says Colorado Parks and Wildlife has to implement “all state-funded preventative measures,” that were in a petition submitted to the CPW commission in September. It was led by Middle Park Stockgrowers out of Grand County and signed by 26 agricultural organizations along with all Colorado Counties Inc. All counties but one were in support. Colorado Ag Organizations petition CPW Commission before further wolf releases happen

Senator Dylan Roberts got up to speak about footnote #80 on the budget, which is on page 408 of this bill.

“It is the General Assembly’s intent that the portion of these funds that are intended to be appropriated for the implementation of Proposition 114 NOT be spent on any future wolf reintroduction unless and until all state funded preventative measures, discussed by the Parks and Wildlife Commission as part of its denial of a citizen petition to halt wolf reintroduction during its January 8, 2025, meeting are implemented to the highest degree possible, to assist owners of livestock in preventing and resolving conflicts between grey wolves and livestock. These measures specifically include but are not limited to the placement of an appropriate number of trained range riders in all areas where wolves are physically located, to assist owners of livestock in preventing and resolving conflicts between gray wolves and livestock, development and implementation of depredation response operation teams proximate to such areas, deployment of additional non-lethal conflict techniques and implementation of site assessment in collaboration with the Colorado Department of Agriculture on Carcass Management Programs to minimize attractants.”

The petition asked the CPW Commission to delay introducing any more wolves until seven measures were in place.

“This is the legislature saying to CPW, ‘We are watching. You make these commitments at a commission meeting. But the legislature is paying attention. We want all seven things to be done and implemented and working or the JBC is not going to give you more money to go get more wolves from British Columbia and bring them here to Colorado.’”

The commission voted 10-1 to reject the petition.

Regarding the budget, the estimate for the cost of the program under Proposition 114 was $800,000 per year. Now, it’s at $2.1 million.

“This footnote says, if you don’t get these seven things in place over the next year, we’re not going to give you more money for new wolves. I don’t think we should be giving them new money for new wolves anyway. We’ve met the legal obligations of Prop 114, in my opinion, long ago.”

Senator Roberts also brought up on the Senate floor that there has been another wolf depredation in Eagle County, confirmed to Senator Roberts on Tuesday.

“We now have 29 wolves in Colorado that are killing livestock. I think just as recently as yesterday we had a confirmed depredation in Eagle County.”

We asked for confirmation from Colorado Parks and Wildlife and received this response Wednesday night from Rachael Gonzales, the Northwest Region Public Information Officer.

“CPW’s ongoing process is to update the Confirmed Gray Wolf Depredation webpage when a depredation is confirmed by CPW staff after the investigation is complete. The investigation in this case is not complete. If the incident you are referencing is confirmed to be a wolf depredation, the page will be updated.”

Three senators were specific about the footnote and here are their entire speeches.