Should Colorado Parks and Wildlife reimburse ranchers for the time they spend treating animals that are injured by wolves and survive?
Members of the CPW Commission moved on from that question quickly during Wednesday’s meeting in Durango. The question under consideration instead was how to do it.
Agency staff recommended – at least officially – that the CPW Commission deny a claim filed by Jackson County rancher Don Gittleson for compensation related to wolf depredation involving his cattle.
The sticking point was a $435 bill, part of a larger $2,542 claim for compensation, that Gittleson included for his own labor caring for an animal that was attacked but survived.
The staff recommendation was that Gittleson’s claim be approved in the amount of $2,107 – the full claim with his labor subtracted.
The agency’s rules and regulations dictate how and when livestock owners are eligible for compensation when their animals are killed or injured by wolves, which were released in Colorado in December 2023 and again in January 2025 at the direction of voters in 2020.
Regulations say “only expenses from licensed veterinarians are eligible for reimbursement.”
But that’s not always practical, Gittleson said. Veterinary care is often far more expensive and can involve hours of travel.
Commissioners agreed.
Gittleson valued his time at a compensation rate of $15 per hour.
“I think his requests for labor are extremely low,” Commission Chair Dallas May said.
May noted that, based on his own experience, veterinary care for large animals in rural parts of the state is hard to come by.
“The ask he has is very low,” May said.
Gittleson, an outspoken opponent of the wolf reintroduction, used his claim to push the commission to change the regulation. He wants CPW to revise its rules so ranchers who care for animals injured by wolves are eligible for compensation.
“This is the more affordable approach and it’s the more common approach,” Commissioner Karen Bailey said in support of the revision.
Commissioners briefly entertained a motion to approve Gittleson’s claim in full – thereby settling any possibility of future litigation once the check was cashed – but Gittleson made clear he wanted the regulation changed to include compensation for care ranchers provide themselves.
“I understand fully that if I cash your check, that settles this. This needs to get settled at your level,” he said.
If CPW sent Gittleson a check, he said he would not cash it.
“I do not need payment this minute. This needs to get resolved,” Gittleson said, with punctuating pauses.
The commission voted to table the matter entirely to consider how to revise the regulations and what caps would need to be put in place.
The commission also approved on Wednesday the payment of $32,768 in compensation to rancher Jeanie Logan for damages to cattle inflicted by wolves.
rschafir@durangoherald.com
