As the Elk and Lee fires burned and grew in Rio Blanco County earlier this month, Colorado Parks and Wildlife became aware that an uncollared wolf was attacking sheep in the region. 

While the wildlife agency determined that the situation merited staff to kill the wolf, the fire activity prohibited it from doing so at that time. Now, however, as the fire activity slows — with the Elk Fire 100% contained by Sunday and the Lee Fire hitting 73% containment on Thursday — Parks and Wildlife is searching for the uncollared wolf. 

“At that time, the Elk and Lee fires were growing, and the situation was just not a good place to be operating in for the safety of our staff. There were just too many things going on at that time,” said Reid Dewalt, Parks and Wildlife’s deputy director, at the agency’s Aug. 21 commissioner meeting. “We delayed those lethal removal efforts, but since that fire concern has subsided, we have initiated those removal efforts.”

The wolf was connected to three confirmed livestock attacks — involving two lambs and one ewe — on July 20, July 22 and Aug. 2 in Rio Blanco County. 

Dewalt said that the agency did not know about the uncollared wolf until the attacks took place. 

The incidents and evidence met Parks and Wildlife’s criteria for “chronic depredation,” which is defined as three or more depredation events in 30 days. 

Under the agency’s management directive for chronically depredating wolves, the agency can kill a responsible wolf if it meets this criteria and if producers have attempted to minimize conflict with the wolves using a variety of non-lethal tools and if more depredations are likely.

According to Parks and Wildlife, the affected producer in Rio Blanco County had completed site assessments earlier this year, had been deploying the recommended conflict mitigation measures and was working with the wildlife agency to prevent more depredations. 

Dewalt said the agency “will not be providing any further information on that until those removal efforts are complete.” 

Search continues for depredating wolf in Copper Creek wolf pack

In Piktin County, Parks and Wildlife is conducting a similar operation to find and euthanize a second member of the Copper Creek wolf pack after continued livestock attacks in the region.

Dewalt said the agency was searching for one specific wolf from the pack that was “suspected of being involved in those depredations.

The agency killed a yearling member in May after officials connected some of the pack’s wolves to four attacks between May 17 and May 25. 

Parks and Wildlife staff began a search for the second pack member on July 20, three days after the agency confirmed wolves were responsible for the death of a calf in the Capitol Creek area. 

Parks and Wildlife staff confirmed a wolf was responsible for the death of a cow on Aug. 7 as well. 

Dewalt called the effort to find the responsible Copper Creek wolf “challenging” due to “the remote and difficult terrain.

“It’s just a hard place to operate, and our staff is doing an incredible amount of work to try to accomplish that effort,” he said.