DENVER Colorado's gray wolf reintroduction program will continue on schedule after the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission voted 10-1 to accept CPW's recommendation to deny a petition from ranchers to pause the reintroduction program. The vote to adopt CPW's recommendation came down at 7 p.m. Wednesday, after hours of discussions, Q&As with the commissioners, and public comment in Denver. The vote to deny the petition means that the wolf reintroduction program will continue on schedule. Reid Dewalt, deputy director of policy for CPW, said earlier in the day that the next wolf translocation will happen before the end of the month, narrowing down the previous timeline of between January and March.The petition was brought forward by livestock producers in late September, and demanded that seven items be addressed before more wolves were released in Colorado. Ahead of the wolf discussion Wednesday, the Middle Park Stockgrowers Association also released a letter it had sent to the commission, reiterating its stance. In December, CPW recommended that the CPW Commission deny the petition, saying all of those seven items had already been addressed. On Wednesday, the CPW Commission had the opportunity to accept or deny CPW's recommendation. Ten of the commissioners voted to accept it. Commissioner Marie Haskett was the only voting member to vote to reject CPW's recommendation."Today, our CPW Commission voted to adopt our staffs recommendation regarding a citizen petition to delay CO's wolf restoration," CPW said in a statement immediately after Wednesday's vote. "They determined changes to the reintroduction efforts were unnecessary due to work that we have done to address the conditions listed in the petition."CPW Director Jeff Davis said wolves can "really dehumanize us against one another," and he urged both sides of the issue to speak kindly during the session Wednesday, which brought out some heightened emotions and finger-pointing. We have to be successful in this," he said. "And successful in this is a sustainable wolf population and we need to keep our ranchers ranching. Theyre absolutely critical. Our mission would not be possible without our ranchers... When I hear from the general public, two questions are asked: 'How are the wolves?' and 'How are you doing supporting the ranchers?' They care about both. Thats what the law says success looks like."Wednesday's decision by the CPW Commission was made as the second cycle of wolf reintroductions looms. CPW announced late this summer that it plans to capture up to 15 wolves from British Columbia and release them in Colorado. That process is ongoing. Colorado is currently home to 14 known gray wolves. The additional wolves from Canada will supplement that population, CPW said, increasing the likelihood of breeding and pack formation, which will in turn create territories. CPW said this will help its staff collaborate with ranches on the animals' behavior and best coexistence strategies. BACKGROUND ON PRODUCERS' PETITION AND CPW'S RECOMMENDATION TO DENY ITIn late September, more than two dozen organizations that represent agriculture and livestock producers in Colorado filed a petition to delay future gray wolf reintroductions until depredations are addressed and mitigation tactics are fully implemented.The Colorado Cattlemen's Association, based in Lakewood, announced the petition, which is addressed to the CPW Commission. A full list of the petitioners, as well as the formal petition, is available here and below. The president of the Middle Park Stockgrowers Association presented the petition to the CPW Commission in mid-November.The petitioners demanded the following conditions before the state released any more wolves: Adopt a definition of chronic depredation Evaluate alternative forms of non-lethal measures to keep wolves away from livestock and working dogs Develop a program to conduct site assessments of areas where wolves are interacting with livestock and working dogs, and educate livestock producers on implementing site-specific non-lethal measures Develop a range rider program to be implemented before the next wolf release, and acquire funding for the program Train a rapid response team to immediately respond to issues with wolves around livestock Develop best practices for carcass management Communicate with local county officials and impacted communities ahead of any future wolf reintroductionsOn Dec. 21, CPW said it recommended that the CPW Commission deny the petition filed by ranchers to pause the wolf reintroduction. CPW said all seven items that the petitioners wanted have already been addressed. Denver7 took a deep dive into the ranchers' seven demands, and CPW's response to each one, in our story here and below.On Wednesday, CPW Commission Chair Dallas May told the group that CPW was not in the same place it was a year prior, or even six months ago. Much more help is available now, he explained. You can read CPW's recommendation regarding the petition in the document here or below. HOW DID THE CPW COMMISSION DECIDE TO DENY THE PETITION?Wednesday's wolf discussion began around noon, with an update from Dewalt about the wolves currently in Colorado, the plans for the 2025 capture and release and the expansion of CPW's conflict minimization program. The program guide is available on CPW's website here and details wolf management criteria and permits, depredation compensation, site assessments, the range rider program, carcass management practices and more. Throughout this year, weve been listening," Dewalt said. "Weve done a lot of listening to all the concerns and recommendations of all the stakeholders throughout this year. Along with our partners, we incorporated the feedback into the expanded and improved conflict minimization program."Want to learn more about Colorado's wolf reintroduction? You can explore the timeline below, which outlines all of Denver7's coverage since the very beginning. The timeline starts with our most recent story.Multiple other employees with CPW spoke: CPW Wolf Conflict Coordinator Adam Baca explained the importance of availability of site assessments for ranchers. CPW's northwest deputy regional manager reviewed the agency's staffing breakdown, and new and future hires. The agency's assistant director of information and education outlined the improvements of communication at the state and local level. The state's Department of Agriculture (CDA) wildlife programs manager provided details about carcass management. CPW Conflict Specialist Max Morton and the CDA's Non-Lethal Conflict Reduction Program Manager Dustin Shiflett discussed the range riding program the state is currently taking applications for, and how it will contract up to 12 range riders for a five-month period starting in April. Shiflett said after the range rider training this April, the riders will have been issued "potentially injurious non-lethal hazing permits" to use against wolves. Two to four range riders will be brought on by late February to help during calving season, he said. At the end of the season, CDA and CPW will meet with producers who used the range riders to see how the program worked, and where it can improve, Shiflett said. More than 90 people have filled out an application, Morton said. "While we can acknowledge that no one tool will work for everyone, everywhere all the time, there have been significant successes documented across the west as well as here at home in Colorado with these tools and techniques that have been provided," Baca said, adding that they are only successful because of producers who partner with CPW. The 11 voting CPW Commission members had many questions for the CPW and CDA teams. Some were specific, like if CPW may start using drones that can play a recording of a human voice to scare off wolves, as Oregon and other countries have used. Reid explained that the agency would need to identify frequencies and beats that deter wolves, but this is something the state is looking into as a possible mitigation tactic.And some questions were much more broad, like if producers could have some sort of access to the wolves' GPS data, aside from the monthly watershed maps CPW publishes publicly. Eric Odell, CPW's wolf program manager, explained that the collars' data points are collected every four hours, so they do not show where wolves are in real time. As the wolf population grows, and more wolves do not have collars, it would become problematic to rely on that information when investigating depredations. He also stressed the importance of protecting the wolves one died of a gunshot wound this summer and an investigation is ongoing into the federal crime. About 75 people made public comments during Wednesday's meeting.Passionate speakers with opinions of all kinds on the wolf reintroduction had their voices heard: They said what CPW had done in 2024 was simply not enough, or that too many aspects of its 2025 plan are "half-baked" and not ready for implementation. They discussed ecological balance and biodiversity in Colorado. They argued the new definition of "chronic depredation" was either too confusing, too restrictive, or not restrictive enough. They raised concerns about the illegal wolf kill. They said the wolf reintroduction feels rushed and doesn't need to be. They said it takes time to adjust to living with wolves and how Coloradans do or do not have that time. They talked about impacts to Colorado's deer and elk population and wasting disease. And the effects to ranchers' mental health and financial strains. Both sides talked about political pressure and harmful comments from people on both extremes of the issue. "The lack of empathy for others is disturbing," Commissioner Haskett said following public comment. "As a livestock owner, the comments about producers to me are offensive... When you don't have all the tools in the toolbox, it makes it even worse. She said "we are not there yet" when it comes to moving forward with another round of wolf releases.I think what the producers are asking for and whats very misunderstood in this crowd is were not asking to stop wolf reintroduction. Were trying to pause to let everybody catch up," she explained. "... We fulfilled Prop 114 and we have a chance to finish this the right way. Lets slow down and look at it and reassess.Had the CPW Commission voted to reject CPW's recommendation to deny the permit, the commissioners would have held a subsequent rulemaking hearing on the proposed regulations in the ranchers' petition, and a temporary pause on the reintroductions would have been implemented. Commissioner Murphy Robinson said during a legislative update Tuesday, he learned that one of the state's priorities for the year is to recruit and retain businesses, and that includes those in the agriculture community. If those businesses start to leave the state, "that would be a dramatic fail," he said. Commissioner Tai Jacober asked a pointed question just ahead of the vote Wednesday evening: Does CPW feel like it could benefit from the extra time the petition would allow, in any way? Odell said a delay would have deep biological impacts, and would mean a lower possibility of breeding, which typically happens in February. "If we were to delay, that sets us back and theres no such thing as a short delay in this," Odell said. "A week or two does not make any difference at all. With a small population and breeding season in a couple months It (a delay) would not necessarily be helpful."At 7 p.m., the CPW Commission took a verbal vote on whether they would adopt CPW's recommendation of denying the ranchers' petition. They voted 10-1 to agree with CPW. Below is the breakdown of the commission's votes: Commissioner Tai Jacober: Adopt CPW recommendation to deny petition Commissioner Jack Murphy: Adopt CPW recommendation to deny petition Commissioner Gabriel Otero: Adopt CPW recommendation to deny petition Commissioner Jessica Beaulieu: Adopt CPW recommendation to deny petition Commissioner Karen Bailey: Adopt CPW recommendation to deny petition Commissioner Murphy Robinson: Adopt CPW recommendation to deny petition Commissioner Eden Vardy: Adopt CPW recommendation to deny petition  Commissioner James Jay Tutchton: Adopt CPW recommendation to deny petition  Commissioner Richard Reading: Adopt CPW recommendation to deny petition Commissioner Marie Haskett: Reject CPW recommendation to deny petition Commission Chair Dallas May: Adopt CPW recommendation to deny petitionNEARLY $600K FILED IN DAMAGE CLAIMS AT END OF 2024On Dec. 31, the Middle Park Stockgrowers Association shared the damage claims from three livestock producers, which total more than $575,000. This was brought up multiple times on Wednesday afternoon. "These are the only three of which we are aware of, and there are likely more," association president Tim Ritschard wrote in an email to the CPW Commission. "... The financial damages associated with these three claims could have been much less had the agency taken lethal action on some of the wolves."Mid-December marked one year since Colorado began the voter-mandated wolf reintroduction process. Watch our report below on the impacts to ranchers. Colorado began reintroducing wolves 1 year ago. These are the struggles and triumphs of that year.The first claim is by and large the highest amount. It reads that six head of cattle and nine head of sheep were found dead in 2024, adding up to a $15,000 value. It also reads that 88 calves went missing in 2024, a massive increase from the producer's baseline of 23. Subtracting the baseline from the number of documented missing animals means the producer can claim a maximum of 65 missing calves, which totals about $110,300. It also reads that 13 cows went missing up for the baseline of four and totaling about $25,000. Missing sheep totals are about $3,500, for a total missing animal value at $139,000. This first claim also listed a lost value for reduced weight in their animals. On average, each livestock lost about 39.9 pounds, the document reads, bringing the total for reduced weight losses to $193,000. The document also details conception rate losses of about $90,000. In total, the first claim's amount was listed as $422,784.78. A second claim lists the $515 fee for a necropsy of a calf killed by a wolf, plus $1,603 for the value of the animal for a total of $2,118. Ritschard said the Middle Park Stockgrowers Association believes necropsies from a wolf kill should be paid for by CPW, and they want to see producers reimbursed for that additional cost. The state's wolf management plan does not detail payment for necropsies.The second claim also lists 57 missing livestock in 2024 when the baseline is typically 35 and the producer listed this loss at about $33,900. They also saw lower conception rates for a loss of $65,000, bringing the second claim's grand total to just under $100,000. The third and final claim listed one cattle for a total base claim amount of $1,784, plus reduced livestock weights adding up to a $23,000 loss and reduced conception rates adding up to a $17,000 loss. The producer for this third document had a total claim amount of $41,000. CPW can either accept the claim amount, renegotiate with the producer, or can recommend to deny it. In the latter case, a staff member with CPW's Game Damage Office will contact the producer before the claim is presented to CPW Commission for final disposition. It's not yet clear if any decisions have been made on these claims. WHAT'S NEXT FOR COLORADO'S WOLF REINTRODUCTION? Colorado is currently home to 14 known gray wolves: Two that moved south into Jackson County from Wyoming, seven surviving from the 2023 reintroduction, and five pups. One of the reintroduced adult females and four of her pups are members of the Copper Creek Pack, which was captured in September after multiple livestock depredations, and are being held at a large enclosure while CPW evaluates them. They will be released this winter. A fifth pup could not be captured but appears to be healthy in the wild, according to CPW. CPW is investigating, but has not confirmed, an additional wolf in the Browns Park area in far northwest Colorado. The next cycle of reintroductions, which will include up to 15 wolves from British Columbia, will happen this month, Dewalt said. None of the animals brought to Colorado will come from packs with repeated livestock depredations, Dewalt said Wednesday. Biologists will examine each wolf at the source site in Canada, and will treat them if necessary. When they are released in Colorado, they will all have GPS collars. Colorado secures a new source location for this winter's second wolf releaseWhile the reintroduction will move forward in 2025, one group is already preparing for a fight at the ballot in 2026. Last week, a group called Colorado Advocates for Smart Wolf Policy filed a draft proposition for the 2026 General Election ballot to repeal the wolf reintroduction. The group said it plans to collect donations for the cause and gather enough signatures to get the initiative on the 2026 ballot. "Supporters of the campaign believe that the current law is not adequately protecting the interests of Colorado residents and their way of life," a blog post written by Patrick Davis reads. "By repealing the law, they hope to restore the balance between conservation efforts and the sustainability of local industries."It is not yet clear if any of the groups that signed the September petition are involved with the Colorado Advocates for Smart Wolf Policy.