Pelton clashes with DNR officials over wolves release
State senator accuses department of lack of transparency
A local state senator has crossed swords with the head of Colorado’s Department of Natural Resources over the handling of wolf reintroduction.
Sen. Byron Pelton, R-sterling, fired off a letter this week to Dan Gibbs, executive director of CDNR accusing the department of a lack of transparency in the effort to transplant gray wolves back into Colorado’s wilderness areas.
Coloradans voted to reintroduce the wolves in 2022 despite strong resistance from people in the areas where the animals would be released. That process has now begun, and Pelton notified Gibbs he’s unhappy with the way the first release was open to only a select few members of the media via press pool coverage. He called the coverage “public relations nonsense” and charged that subsequent releases were done “under the cloak of secrecy.”
“If 40-some wolf advocates could be invited to participate and applaud, surely a few phone calls to neighboring ranchers couldn’t have been too much to ask,” Pelton wrote. “The public relations office of CPW has been miserably slow in returning press requests and not transparent in the least.”
Pelton also was offended that The Fence Post’s Rachel Gabel was snubbed by CDNR’S press office when she called to inquire about wolves coming from packs with a history of depredations. The department finally responded to Gabel, Pelton said, after close of business on the Friday before Christmas.
The senator also took a swipe at Colorado’s First Gentleman Marlon Reiss, an avid animal rights activist.
“To add to the embarrassment, First Gentleman Marlon Reis publicly attacked Gabel online, earning a scathing piece from the editorial board of The Gazette and Colorado Politics and embarrassing the Governor’s office,” he wrote.
Pelton went on to accuse CDNR of not keeping its word that the transplanted wolves would be from predation-free packs.
A day later, Gibbs replied, essentially saying Pelton had his facts wrong.
“It’s important to note that any wolves that have been near livestock will have some history of depredation, and this includes all packs in Oregon,” Gibbs said. “This does not mean they have a history of chronic depredation. If a pack has had infrequent depredation events, they should not be excluded as a source population per the plan.”
Gibbs went on to cite details about the two wolf packs used to supply animals to Colorado and pointed out that four wolves were “lethally removed” from one of the packs and “The pack has not depredated since.”
He also noted that CPW teams in Oregon passed on several larger and easierto-access packs because they had recent depredation or had a chronic or ongoing depredation history.
Gibbs pointed out that Pelton already had talked with Parks and Wildlife
chief Jeff Davis about the issue, and that state officials are sensitive to the emotional aspects of the project.
“We understand the reintroduction has driven a lot of apprehension and tension within the ranching and broader agricultural community in your district, and we appreciate your feedback on the wolf releases and associated communication from my team,” Gibbs said. “We are taking your and all other feedback into account as our Department and CPW do an after-action review of the wolf releases to understand lessons learned and areas for improvement in the future. DNR and CPW care deeply about our crucial partnerships with rural communities and the agricultural sector, and we are committed to working with you and other interested legislators to continue gathering input to try to make this reintroduction as successful as possible.”
You can read Byron Pelton’s entire letter here and Gibbs’ response here.