Colorado’s wolves move deeper into Eagle, Summit counties in June

Colorado’s collared wolves have traveled deeper into Eagle and Summit counties while somewhat withdrawing from parts of Routt and Grand counties, according to a map released by Colorado Parks and Wildlife Wednesday. 

The map, posted on the agency’s website, uses Colorado watershed boundaries to indicate where wolves have been detected. It is updated on the fourth Wednesday of every month.

State officials have released the maps monthly since January after reintroducing 10 wolves in Grand and Summit counties in December.

This month’s map, which reflects May 21 through June 25, shows the wolves entering watersheds in northwestern Eagle County and southern Summit County near Copper Mountain. While the map from last month showed wolves in central and western Routt County and central Grand County near Granby, the latest update doesn’t show them in those areas anymore. 

It also shows the wolves nearing the Front Range and areas around Interstate 70. 

The map only shows what watershed boundaries wolves have entered, not exact locations. Even though the map includes watersheds that cross below Interstate 70, the wolves haven’t traveled below the interstate, according to Parks and Wildlife. 

One of the watersheds wolves have entered borders Boulder County. Another expands the wolves’ territory deeper into Larimer County. There was less activity in Moffat County than last month, according to the map. 

The wolves that were released in December, which were transported to the state from Oregon, have tracking collars that record their position once every four hours. Two of those collars are no longer functioning, but those wolves are traveling with other, collared wolves, according to Parks and Wildlife. One of those wolves was killed by a mountain lion in April in Larimer County.

Since the start of reintroduction, there have been 10 confirmed cases of wolves attacking livestock in the state, also known as depredation. Earlier this month, a Routt County rancher lost a calf to a wolf, the first depredation recorded in that county. Only one of the depredation cases has resulted in a payout from the state so far. 

Earlier this month, state officials confirmed a wolf pup was born in Grand County. The family of wolves can now be considered a pack, dubbed the Copper Creek Pack. 

Elliott Wenzler is the Western Slope politics reporter for The Aspen Times and its sister publications in Glenwood Springs, Vail, Steamboat Springs, Summit County, and Grand County.