KREMMLING, Colo. — Since Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) released eight wolves into Grand County in December, publicized sightings have been rare, other than some photographs taken in early January.
Jodi Hill, a rancher near Kremmling, captured video of a gray wolf Thursday morning while driving on County Road 22 after he spotted the large animal running on the side of the road.
Ranchers are beginning to prepare for their cattle to give birth, and Hill said the sighting makes him nervous about the future safety of his new calves. Ranchers have expressed concerns about the lack of communication and information from CPW. The state did not tell people in Grand County it had released wolves until hours and sometimes days later.
CPW Director Jeff Davis acknowledged the way they handled the reintroduction damaged relationships with ranchers.
"I recognized it when it was going on what the impact was going to be, but it was doubled, tripled and quadrupled down on as the days kind of played out," Davis told the Wildlife Commission on Jan. 10.
State officials continue to apologize, including Dan Gibbs, executive director of the Department of Natural Resources to lawmakers in a joint agriculture and natural resources committee meeting on Jan. 24.
“I understand, in conversations with many of you, that we did not meet the expectations of our notification on the process of releasing wolves to legislators, ranchers and others in the area," Gibbs said. "We understand these concerns, and we're able to make adjustments after that first release. So, my sincere apologies for not getting that right, for the expectations that many of you had."
CPW has said very little about what the wolves have been up to. They released 10 wolves it captured from Oregon, and they have collars on two wolves that naturally wandered from Wyoming. CPW put out a map recently showing where all 12 wolves had roamed.
CPW plans to update this map monthly.
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