State’s Top Agriculture Organizations Condemn Colorado Parks & Wildlife’s Decision to Suspend the Lethal Take of Chronically Depredating Wolves

Colorado Farm Bureau (CFB), Colorado Cattlemen's Association (CCA), Colorado Livestock Association (CLA), Colorado Wool Growers Association (CWGA), and Rocky Mountain Farmers Union (RMFU) formally condemned today's (Sept. 30, 2026) announcement and unconscionable action taken by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) to suspend the lethal take and removal of chronically depredating wolves.

"This reprehensible decision directly contradicts direct stakeholder input that was painstakingly gathered over years of good faith dialogue between the Department, sportsmen, wildlife advocates, farmers, ranchers, biologists, and more," says Carlyle Currier, President of the Colorado Farm Bureau and 4th Generation Western Slope Rancher. "It's nearly unfathomable that CPW intends to abdicate their obligations to our farming, ranching, and rural communities after so many strides in rebuilding trust on conflict mitigation, non-lethal tool employment, fair-compensation structures, and broader reintroduction success."

Bonnie Eddy, Executive Director of CWGA expressed additional frustration and said "Since the inception of the wolf recovery planning process, the Colorado Wool Growers Association (CWGA) has strongly pushed for a reasonable definition of "self-sustaining" wolf population. It's shocking to see CPW abandon its landowner partners to capitulate to politics and jerk the rug out from under livestock producers that are experiencing ongoing wolf attacks on livestock. It's been very obvious since the first wolf release that the efficacy of non-lethal deterrents is very limited."

These drastic steps serve as the capstone to an introduction effort that has unilaterally failed to date. While voters narrowly approved the program in 2020, the implementation proved to be woefully mismanaged, as the political interference rises. Notwithstanding CPW's initial efforts alongside producers in seeking the 10(j) designation-today's measure to desert that effective management tool signals broad disdain for the public-private partnership long championed and threatens further abandonment of rural Colorado.

"This is the latest example of this administration's failure to adhere to the Wolf Management Plan. The reintroduction has been an ill-advised effort that places a burden on the Western Slope. The failure to follow the Wolf Management Plan has made the issue worse. This political interference has placed CPW in the position of being forced to disregard best practices and it harms their relationship with the public" said RMFU President, Chad Franke.

The debilitating symptoms of this malpractice will be profound as farmers and ranchers face the consequences of this reckless redirection. As we quickly approach the 2026/2027 calving and lambing session, the repercussions will be immediately felt as we concurrently navigate the remaining 6 months of the biological wolf year that continues to reflect an unfavorable ecosystem trajectory for a sustainable population. Furthermore, the acute pressures on the farm and ranch economy will constrain producers in unprecedented ways, only exacerbated by these state directives.

"Colorado's livestock producers have worked in good faith, invested in nonlethal tools, and done what this administration has asked of them. In return, we expect this administration to uphold its commitment to act when wolves repeatedly kill livestock," said Mark LeValley, president of the Colorado Cattlemen's Association. "Lethal removal is a necessary part of wolf management and conflict management, and it must be used when wolves become chronically depredating. Suspending that tool leaves ranching families to bear the consequences and undermines the accountability this administration owes rural Colorado."

CFB, CCA, CLA, CWGA and RMFU will continue to advocate for state wildlife management that equips farmers and ranchers with reasonable conflict mitigation tools, mirrors the realities on the ground, and provides a realistic avenue to bridge the disconnect between the state and our rural communities.

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