The Colorado Wildlife and Wildlife Commission approves Partial Wolf Compensation Claims

The Colorado Wildlife and Wildlife Commission unanimously approved two large claims related to cattle murder unanimously by Lobos to Colorado from Oregon in December 2023.

The paid claims were not paid in their entirety, and a third claim never reached the agenda.

Two of the three known statements come from two profit operations in the Great County. The largest, for $ 422,000, was from Conway Farrell. The Commission approved, on the recommendation of the personnel, to pay $ 287,000 and set aside, for now, for the rest of the claims.

Travis Black, the regional manager of the Northwest of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, said the agency and the Farrells reached an agreement on the greatest amount to process an immediate payment.

Another $ 112,000 are for missing animals. That amount is still being negotiated between the rancher and the state, according to Black. He did not approach the last $ 23,000 in claims.

Livestock prices are high at this time, said Black, which is what is promoting part of the cost.

Claims for lost cattle do not allow compensation for each animal. Producers can claim a percentage of these lost animals, but the way it is determined is not clear. Awarding percentages ranged from less than 50% and 75%.

Farrell told Colorado Politics in December that his cattle does not extend in pastures and is constantly stressed because they fear the wolves. They do not look for land with fresh food and will congregate together, instead of dispersing in the grass, he said. In some places, he added, cattle must be pushed to other areas after being scared by the wolves.

The change in feeding habits has resulted in lower birth weight for calves, said the rancher. When the cattle are taken to the market, on average, each weighs 40 pounds lighter than cattle a year ago. Farrell said a neighbor experienced a similar situation, with cattle that weighed 29 pounds less on average.

Farrell said Wolves cost its ranch almost $ 600,000 in 2024, including hunting losses of $ 140,000. That is not sustainable, he added.

The second claim is from Bruchez and Sons, also in Grand County, for more than $ 100,000 for A dead calf, a necropsy, 57 lost cattle and low conception rates for cows. The Commission approved a payment of $ 56,008.74. Black did not explain the difference.

There was also a third claim in December for $ 42,922 for a cow lost by a wolf and the lower conception and the weights of the market, but that was not included in Wednesday’s statements.

The president of the commission, Dallas May, who is a rancher in southeast Colorado, was not satisfied with the approved amounts.

“The value claimed in these cows is less than I think it should be,” said May, because these are cows of great altitude “that cannot be obtained elsewhere.”

He estimated that the value placed in the cows was 25% lower than it should have been and the public needs to understand what these low prices make to a gain operation.

“The request to pay this is not a bonus for anyone. It is simply trying to recover some of the costs that have been lost and that should actually have been for these producers the past autumn,” he said.

“THis is not someone asking for a bonus or a dividend. This is something that is simply trying to help people remain in business, “May added.

The amounts approved on Wednesday also included two other claims not related to the wolves. The State Wolf Compensation Fund receives $ 350,000 annually, so Wednesday’s claims will probably exhaust what remains at the bottom, since another 15 claims were presented throughout 2024.

The State Wolf Predation Website He says that the 15 claims are pending, even some that were presented a year ago.

The delivery season is now underway in some parts of Colorado and the wolves are also preparing. Last month, a wolf without stopping killed a pregnant cow in Jackson County.

The wolves brought from Oregon more than a year ago came from packages with a history of killing cattle, despite the recommendation of the wolf plan of the state that “(no) wolf should be translocated that it has a known story of chronic predation and the supply of geographical areas with chronic predation events should not happen.”

The State has also brought 15 wolves of British Columbia, freeing them in the counties of Eagle and Pitkin.

TO Measurement To finish the Lobo Restoration Program and the repeal of proposition 114, the measure that resulted in the Lobo Restoration Program and that received the support of Front Range voters, It has been approved by the State Title Board for the General Elections of 2026.