There are enough wolves in Gunnison County already

Editor:

Not long ago, one night, just north of Parlin, driving home to Gunnison on that straight stretch of Highway 50, a wolf bounded across the road, heading southwest from the northeast. I’ve never seen one in the wild but this was a wolf.

I’ve seen lots of foxes. We lived for 20 years in the hills around Conifer where they thrived. Beginning in the 1920s, foxes were raised in those parts for their pelts, for women’s drapes and coats. Fashion changed around the 1950s, making fox pelts no longer profitable so fox raisers simply released their foxes into the wild. I know a fox when I see one. This wasn’t a fox and it wasn’t a dog. This was a wolf.

I helped our son for several years when he was on a ranch up the Ohio Creek Road. During the summer, a local rancher ranged his cattle there, up on the BLM land and on the hay fields after we put up the hay. During the Gunnison County Pandemic Response, when Proposition 114 was being debated and then voted on, I volunteered with ranchers who were also part of the county’s response effort. I know how they manage their livestock, on horseback, four-wheelers and with dogs. Those cattle aren’t simply commodities. They’re livelihoods, they’re counted on to expand the herd and go to market. Lately, there’s been some writing about support for the wolves. I reckon it’s time to think about support for ranchers and the cattle in our valley.

Ranchers in Grand County presented Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) with a $582,000 bill for wolf kills and the associated impacts on cattle and sheep in 2023, the first year of reintroduction. The Colorado legislature allocated $350,000 for the Wolf Depredation Compensation Fund in 2024, which was double the previous year’s amount. Colorado ranchers claimed nearly $650,000 in 2024 losses due to wolf depredation, but the compensation fund struggled to meet those demands, with payouts often falling short of the losses reported. CPW data showed that the total compensation paid did not include denied claims or those pending.

There are about 17,000 people in Gunnison County and about the same number of cattle. According to the CPW website, as recently as this October and November, collared wolves have been noted in Gunnison County and every adjacent county with the exception of Ouray. In May and November of this year, here in Gunnison County, a heifer and calf were reported depredated. I reckon we’ve got enough wolves around. If you agree, reach out to CPW, Colorado Department of Agriculture and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and let them know.

Joe Dix

Gunnison