Colorado’s Wolf Reintroduction Has Cost Taxpayers Double What They Expected When They Voted to Approve it

Bringing wolves back to Colorado has cost the state at least $4.8 million so far, according to a new financial analysis by The Denver Post. This is within the total amount appropriated by lawmakers, the Post reports. But it’s more than double the estimate that was given to Colorado voters during the 2020 election, when voters narrowly passed a ballot measure initiating wolf reintroduction by a margin of less than 1 percent.

The Post’s analysis is based on a spending spreadsheet from Colorado Parks and Wildlife that was obtained through a public records request. The document breaks down all the expenses associated with CPW’s wolf reintroduction program, including the high cost of transporting and surveilling gray wolves.

The spreadsheet also shows how much money was poured into planning and developing a program, along with the high administrative costs of wolf reintroduction. This includes roughly $2.6 million in salaries, benefits, and wages for CPW employees working on wolf-related issues. Other big-ticket items highlighted by Post include more than half-a-million ($525,276) that CPW paid to contractors who helped develop a wolf recovery plan and hosted public meetings, and more than $160,000 in travel-related expenses.

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Funding for the multi-million-dollar wolf reintroduction program comes from a few different coffers managed by the state. Although the original ballot measure called for the program to be funded entirely with CPW’s wildlife cash fund, which is primarily funded by hunting and fishing license fees, state lawmakers argued that it was unfair for hunters and anglers to foot the bill for wolf reintroduction. Their solution was to spread those costs between the state’s general fund, the Species Conservation Trust fund, and the Colorado Nongame Conservation and Wildlife Restoration cash fund.

These costs, of course, will continue to balloon as CPW reintroduces more wolves in the months and years to come. The next release is scheduled to take place between December and March of 2025. And many Coloradans would argue that it’s the ranchers and livestock producers who have incurred the greatest cost for wolf reintroduction. However, the real financial impact of wolves depredating livestock remains unclear. 

So far in 2024, CPW has only paid $3,855 to ranchers for claims that were submitted for two calves and one llama, according to the agency’s records. But those same records show an additional 15 head of cattle and nine sheep that were confirmed to have been killed by Colorado wolves this year. The Post reports that none of those claims have been submitted to the agency, and that ranchers have the option of filing a reimbursement claim immediately or waiting until Dec. 31 to file their claim.