DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado’s team of “range riders” – a group trained to prevent wolf conflict – is now fully staffed and ready.
Following the controversial reintroduction of wolves in Colorado, some ranchers have raised concerns about wolf depredations. After offering compensation for the lost cattle due to wolf depredations, Colorado Parks and Wildlife now has another solution.
CPW partnered with the Colorado Department of Agriculture to start a Range Rider Program, which trains a select group of people to watch livestock and deter wolf conflicts in several counties.
CPW said that Colorado is one of three states in the country, including Washington and Arizona, to have a range rider program. And now, the program is ready to go.
On Tuesday, CPW said it has a full staff of range riders and hired 11 contract riders from local communities. The riders are fully trained and ready to deploy and serve Jackson, Grand, Routt, Eagle, Garfield, Pitkin, Summit, Rio Blanco, and Moffat counties.
The riders will work four to five days a week, up to 22 days per month, recording GPS-tracked routes and documenting predator signs. They will work during the on-range season, from April to October, although CPW hasn’t said when they will officially be deployed.
The range riders are part of CPW’s overall Livestock Conflict Minimization Program, which was proposed after more proposed gray wolf releases in 2025.
