Wolves to be released on Western Slope in upcoming weeks

This is part two of Sky-Hi News’ coverage of a Nov. 9 meeting in Grand County about wolf reintroduction. For part one, click here.

Ten wolves are set to arrive in Colorado this month. On Nov. 9, wildlife officials prepared local residents for wolf reintroduction during an open house at the Colorado State University Extension Hall in Kremmling.

The meeting was led by Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff: Jeromy Huntington, area wildlife manager; Ellen Brandell, wildlife research scientist; and Adam Baca, wolf conflict coordinator. USDA wildlife specialist Lauren Emerick and past Colorado Cattlemen’s Association president and Walden rancher Philip Anderson also led the meeting.

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After Huntington and Baca gave presentations, a panel of speakers addressed the crowd. The panel discussion was moderated by Jonathan Boydston, CPW’s public involvement specialist. Each speaker had their own unique perspective on wolf management.

Ellen Brandell

Wildlife scientist Brandell began the panel discussion by describing how 10 gray wolves will make the roughly 1,000-mile journey from their homes in Oregon to the Western Slope. Several attendees asked logistics questions, from how the animals would be captured to how they would be tracked.

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“We will be darting them from helicopter … that’s the best way to capture them in the winter,” Brandell explained, adding that foothold traps can injure wolves in cold weather because limb circulation is cut off.

The tranquilized wolves will undergo health checks to ensure they are suitable for relocation before their long journey.

“We’ll put them in a crate,” she said. “They are brought to Colorado, probably in a plane, then those crates will be opened up. It’s going to be pretty fast for these animals.”

The wolves will be let go in a hard release, as opposed to a soft release where they are kept in holding pens and fed until they habituate to their new environment. By the time the wolves arrive in Colorado, their tranquilizing drugs will have worn off.

“Wolves are going to be petrified coming out of those crates,” Brandell said. “Their first instinct will be to run … they want to get away from people as soon as possible.”

Since only about four crated wolves can fit in a plane at a time, there will be multiple releases from December until possibly March. Brandell added that the wolves won’t necessarily be released as a pack. If specialists knows the captured animals are of the same pack, they will be released in the same location. If they aren’t certain, those wolves will be released separately.

“Wolves are very social animals and we’re not going to try to artificially enforce some type of social structure,” she said, adding that the agency might not know a lot about the relationships of the wolves they capture.

“The best thing for the wolves is … for us to release them separately,” she said. “But they have lots of ways of communicating, and if they want to find each other after we release them, they can.”

The agency aims to bring in an equal ratio of males to females. None of the females caught before February will be pregnant since this is before springtime mating season.

Next, Brandell discussed how the reintroduction process will occur through the years. This December, CPW will release wolves in the north of the reintroduction zone. This area could include Grand County, depending on how many release sites are utilized this year. For the next three to five years, the agency will continue to release 10 to 15 wolves per year, until the ideal count of 30 to 50 wolves has been met.

“Until we know how many actually stay in the area — actually establish and reproduce — we haven’t decided the exact numbers or exact locations where we’re planning to release in subsequent years,” she said.

After Brandell gave her overview of the reintroduction process, one person in attendance stated that released wolves wouldn’t stay in Colorado. CPW will release the wolves within a 60-mile buffer from state lines — “bad science,” according to that attendee. As Adam Baca stated earlier in the meeting, wolves have been known to have a range of upward to 100 miles.

“We’ve already had documented wolf sightings in Grand County,” the attendee said. “Why make (the buffer) 60 miles? They certainly have a much wider territory … we already have collared wolves in Walden that aren’t staying where you think they’re staying.”

Currently, Colorado Parks and Wildlife has confirmed there are two wolves living in the Walden area of Jackson County; they traveled from Wyoming.

“Our goal is to have wolves re-establish in the state. That’s what we are mandated to do,” Brandell responded. “… Our goal by putting them within 60 miles during releases is that hopefully they will stay in the state in the short term and re-establish.”

She then discussed the GPS tracking collars that each released wolf will be fitted with. Not all wolves in Colorado will be collared, but each wolf from Oregon will have a collar as it lands in the state. Collars allow CPW to monitor the animals’ movement — with some limitations.

“There’s a balance between how much data they collect and their battery life,” Brandell said. “We have to decide how long we want that battery life to live, and how much data we want to collect.”

The more data points collected, the faster the battery drains. For example, if a wolf’s location is collected every hour (as close to real-time as a collar can get), the battery would die in less than a year, Brandell explained. Currently, collars collect a data point on the wolf’s location every few hours, then once or twice a day, that information is transmitted to CPW’s servers via satellite.

“We only get information retroactively,” she said. “I can’t look online and tell you where a wolf is right now, but I can tell you where a wolf was eight hours ago.”

She stated CPW can’t access the exact path the wolf took between the data points, so it’s difficult to tell what private lands the wolf might have crossed. This prompted an attendee to speak out that he felt the collars were inefficient.

“Why can we not have collars to know exact day and time of these predators?” he asked Brandell. “You’re dealing with people’s livelihoods here, sheep and cattle. They’ve done what they had to do — that’s why wolves were eradicated from Colorado.”

He added that cattle can be fitted with electronic identification ear tags, which allows their location to be monitored wherever there is a satellite, even in the mountains.

“You’re bringing a vicious monster, and we can only know we have problems to deal with eight hours later,” he said.

Brandell responded that the ear tags that work on cattle aren’t suitable for a wolf’s anatomy because the tags would bend or tear the wolf’s ear. She clarified that CPW is using the best wildlife collars available.

“We are limited by batteries,” she said of why real-time data isn’t available.

Using a larger battery would allow for more data and a longer lifespan, but then the collar would be too heavy for the wolf to wear. Secondly, collars must last longer than one year since CPW is unable to capture wolves to replace drained batteries frequently.

“We can’t do that logistically and financially,” she said. “Wolves are smart. They learn to avoid the helicopter. They learn to avoid the plane. They learn to avoid foothold traps.”

Phillip Anderson

After Brandell spoke, Anderson discussed his experiences ranching in wolf country in Walden, including how he has worked with Adam Baca and other CPW employees to mitigate conflicts.  

“We’ve all got to work with our neighbors. We’ve got to work with the government. We’ve got to work with CPW,” he said, explaining that all Western Slope residents need to prepare for wolves near their homes.

“They’re not going to be released on the Continental Divide; they’re going to be released where there’s food,” he stated. “Guess what the food is? Elk, moose — and livestock.”

Anderson is no stranger to wolf attacks. In fact, less than two weeks after the Kremmling open house, three of his lambs were killed on the ranch he operates with his son, Brian Anderson. CPW investigated the situation and confirmed the lambs were killed by at least one wolf.

During the open house, Anderson stated that he and other North Park residents have been able to continue to ranch, despite wolf attacks, with conflict mitigation tools from wildlife officials.

“If you’re not willing to try those nonlethal tools, then you’re gonna be in bad shape because the wolves are gonna come visit you,” he said.

He clarified that every tool has its pluses and minuses. For example, fladry has a shelf life of about 90 days before wolves figure out how to get around it. “They are intelligent beings,” he said.

Guardian dogs have been used with some success in North Park, as have range riders — people who peruse the landscape on horseback to proactively manage livestock and search for signs of predators.

While organizations such as Working Circle do provide range riders in Colorado, it’s difficult to find enough people to take on the responsibility.

“It’s not a vacation by any means,” he said. “People think, ‘I’m just going to ride a horse all the time and it’s going to be lollipops and gumdrops.’ It’s not.”

He concluded by saying that communication is key for successful wolf conflict mitigation. Ranchers who believe wolves are near their property should reach out to fellow ranchers, as well as CPW, right away.

“Don’t put your head back in the sand,” he told the crowd of mostly Grand County residents. “It’s already been there long enough. It’s time … I guarantee you, 12 months from today, we’re going to have wolves.”

Lauren Emerick

Emerick, a USDA wildlife specialist, spoke after Anderson about the various nonlethal tools that USDA Wildlife Services provides. This includes fladry, trail cameras, cracker shells and propane cannons. Wildlife services will collaborate with CPW to disseminate these tools throughout the state.

Emerick stated the USDA does have some nonlethal programs CPW doesn’t offer that “could potentially be very good solutions.” The most significant might be its protection dog program.

“We place Kangal breed livestock protection dogs with producers. It’s entirely free,” she said. “You get two free puppies, first year of medical costs covered and we provide assistance with training.”

The Kangal shepherd dogs can be useful in protecting cattle and sheep from wolves. The program is relatively new as Wildlife Services has placed about 23 dogs so far.

“Some have had great success, some have hit road bumps, but we’ve learned a lot and it’s a program we want to continue,” Emerick said. “But we need producers interested in order to do that.”

She encouraged ranchers who are interested to reach out to her or Wildlife Services. Emerick also gave attendees a flyer that described the program. According to the flyer, these massive dogs were originally bred in Turkey and have a long history of bonding with and protecting livestock herds.

Emerick added that Wildlife Services is actively looking for range riders whom the agency can pair with ranchers.

“Having human eyes on the ground that are capable of handling situations is one of the best things you can do for your livestock,” she said.

These riders must be extensively trained, dedicated to the job and willing to work long hours to keep livestock safe.

“My job is to implement any conflict (minimization) tools that do not involve killing the predator,” she said. “So if there are things you want to see from us, it’s my job to figure out to make it happen.”

Jeromy Huntington

Huntington works for CPW as the wildlife manager for Area 9. Because Area 9 represents Grand and Summit counties, Huntington worked to ensure there was a meeting about wolf reintroduction in Kremmling.

During the panel discussion, he described the benefits of trail cameras. CPW, as well as Wildlife Services, will work with landowners to install cameras around their property. He said the cameras would offer more up-to-date data about wolf movements than GPS collars do and added that having human eyes on the ground is also an efficient method to track wolf movements.

“When we had collared wolves from North Park that came down into Grand County, we got a call from a landowner who reported that sighting before we even knew anything from the collar, or the animal was in Middle Park,” he said.

Residents prepare for reintroduction

After the panel discussion, audience member and local rancher Jani Phillips Wood spoke to the crowd about her concerns for her family regarding wolves.

“I want to introduce you to my range riders,” she said of her two young children at her side. “They’re 9 and 11. We’re trying to raise our kids to come up in this lifestyle.”

Wood explained that her children don’t have the tools to protect themselves as she tries to teach them how to care for livestock.

“As a mom, I can’t responsibly send my children to check their cows during calving season anymore because it’s not safe,” she said.

She added that she wants to be respectful of the law and be a team player in the wolf reintroduction process, but “there are people in this state who value an animal’s life and an animal’s lifestyle above my children’s. And that’s wrong.”

Wood’s statements were met with applause from the crowd.

“If it comes down to my children’s lives — I’m done,” she finished.

Tools and contacts

As wolf reintroduction becomes a reality in Colorado, CPW has released a brochure titled “Living with Wolves: How to avoid wildlife conflicts.”

The brochure gives advice on what to do when encountering a wolf, as well as how to recreate and live safely in wolf country. Visit CPW.State.Co.Us to read the brochure.

To report a wolf sighting in Grand County, visit CPW.Info/Wolf-Sighting or call CPW’s Hot Sulphur Springs Field Office at 970-725-6200. CPW can also provide residents with more information about nonlethal conflict minimization tools and how to receive compensation for killed livestock.

For more information about range riding or Kangal livestock guardian dogs, contact wildlife specialist Lauren Emerick at Lauren.Emerick@usda.gov.

This story is from SkyHiNews.com.