Broad Daylight Wolf Attack in Northwest Colorado Sparks Outrage Among Ranchers
May 29, 2025
A series of devastating wolf attacks occurred over Memorial Day weekend at the Lost Marbles Ranch, Crystal River Ranch and McCabe Ranch, leaving two calves dead and others injured. A broad daylight attack at the Lost Marbles Ranch, carried out by three wolves from the notorious Copper Creek pack, took place in the heart of the calving grounds, a large meadow where ranchers actively monitor mothers and newborns during the critical calving season.
The wolves separated a cow and a calf from the main herd, severely injuring the calf.
While many in the public romanticize the idea of seeing a wolf, local ranchers live with the daily reality of fear, stress and loss. Since calving began in early March, emotional strain has continued to mount, taking a profound toll on families.
“It’s hard to describe the heartbreak of finding a calf torn apart in the middle of the field you’ve been tending day and night,” said Mike Cerveny, the rancher whose animals were attacked. “We work around the clock to protect our livestock, only to be blindsided like this and not even told wolves were in the area until it was too late.”
Cerveny also experienced confirmed wolf depredations in March of this year.
In a separate but related incident on Thursday, another calf was killed and a second injured on the Crystal River Ranch, west of Highway 133. While the Governor’s office and state agencies publicly celebrate the implementation of the range rider program, its on-the-ground execution tells a different story.
“CPW dispatched a range rider to the area but failed to provide essential information, including my contact information, specifics about the property or even a map of the terrain,” said Tom Harrington, Crystal River Ranch Manager and President of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. “I learned about the wolf activity and the range rider’s presence through our local brand inspector a day before I ever heard from wildlife officials.”
When the dead calf was found, CPW staff investigated the scene and verbally confirmed it was a likely wolf depredation.
“We were promised partnership,” Harrington continued. “But it seems that the relationship has gone to the wayside. We’re left trying to figure this out on our own, rancher to rancher, neighbor to neighbor. The Governor wants celebratory headlines about his successes, but he couldn’t care less about the actual impacts. He’s made his disfavorable opinion about those of us who choose a rural lifestyle loud and clear.”
Ranchers across Western Colorado expressed deep frustration and disappointment with CPW and Colorado Department of Natural Resources (DNR) leadership. Promises made during listening sessions, including proactive communication, on-the-ground support and the avoidance of relocating problem wolves, have been broken repeatedly.
The Copper Creek pack, responsible for numerous livestock depredations last year before being relocated by CPW, was released in Pitkin County earlier this year.
“These attacks are a clear betrayal of the public trust,” said Erin Spaur, Executive Director of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. “CPW assured ranchers they would not import known depredating wolves from out of state or move problem wolves from one region to another. Yet here we are. The very pack that wreaked havoc on ranchers last year is now someone else’s problem. Given the history with the Copper Creek Pack, CPW should immediately remove them to comply with the State’s Wolf Plan and the chronic depredation definition.”
Compounding the sense of betrayal is the continued lack of communication. Many ranchers hear about wolf activity not from CPW, but from neighbors. In other regions, requests for non-lethal deterrents are met with a lack of available resources. Local CPW staff who live in these communities and understand the stakes are stretched thin, left to manage the fallout from decisions made far from the Western Slope.
“This isn’t just about one attack or another,” said Brad Day, a neighboring rancher who helped Cerveny in the aftermath of the Memorial Day attack. “This is about a failed process that prioritizes politics over people. In true Governor Polis fashion, the reintroduction was rushed, communication is broken and producers are the ones paying the price emotionally and financially. He would rather control how CPW field staff do their jobs than actually listen to them.”
Day also experienced a calf depredation this weekend, in addition to attacks on two animals on May 17. Several more are missing. He is the third rancher in close proximity to suffer wolf-related losses in a one-month timeframe.
The broader ranching community is calling for a responsible pause in wolf reintroductions to allow agency programs to be fully implemented, refined, and assessed. After this denning season, the state’s wolf population is expected to approach 40 animals. Following last year’s half-million-dollar depredation claims, ranchers argue that more time is needed to reduce conflict, evaluate current efforts, and learn what works before expanding the reintroduction effort.
As one rancher put it, “We’ve been thrown to the wolves literally and figuratively by leaders who will never have to live with the consequences of their decisions.”
Source: CCA
