Colorado Wolf Controversy
Colorado Rancher Acknowledges Employee Shot Wolf After Denied Lethal Take Permit
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Colorado rancher Susan Nottingham has confirmed that one of her employees shot and killed the matriarch of the King Mountain wolf pack in March. The wolf, known as Wolf 2310, was shot on March 10 on calving grounds at Nottingham's 20,000-acre ranch in Routt County, according to The Coloradoan.
The killing comes at a fraught moment for Colorado's wolf reintroduction program. Of the 25 wolves brought to the state, 14 have died — a mortality rate above 50%, according to Colorado Sun. The King Mountain pack has now lost both of its breeding adults within two months.
A Pack Loses Both Parents in Two Months
The King Mountain pack's troubles began in January. Wolf 2305, the pack's patriarch, died on January 28 during a Colorado Parks and Wildlife collaring operation. CPW said he died from cardiogenic shock — heart failure triggered by the capture. The agency briefly suspended capture operations after his death, according to 9News.
Then on March 10, a ranch hand shot the pack's matriarch, Wolf 2310. The Coloradoan reported the employee fired two warning shots before a third fatal shot as the wolf approached cows and calves. CPW detected a mortality signal from her GPS collar the next day, on March 11. The agency announced her death on March 13 but did not say she had been shot.
Rancher Says the Permit System Failed Her
Nottingham did not stay quiet. She said she applied for a "chronic depredation lethal take permit" after CPW confirmed three wolf attacks on her ranch between October 12 and November 4, 2024. Each claim was settled for $2,899. CPW denied her permit. The agency said a nearby "carcass dump" — where a hunting outfitter left animal remains — attracted the wolves and disqualified her, according to Colorado Sun.
Nottingham disputes that reasoning. She says her ranch is so large that managing every attractant is impossible. She claims she lost 60 calves worth $180,000, plus tens of thousands in legal fees for her employee. "The wolves are not at fault," she told Steamboat Pilot. "They simply do not belong here." Her appeal of the permit denial was also rejected.
Was the Shooting Legal? Investigators Are Still Deciding
Under federal law, Colorado's wolves are classified as an "experimental population." That label, set by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rule, allows for lethal take — but only when a wolf is caught in the act of attacking livestock. Conservation advocates argue Wolf 2310 was not actively attacking at the moment she was killed. "This appears to be an illegal killing," one advocate told Pagosa Daily Post.
A joint investigation by CPW and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is ongoing. If investigators find the shooting was unjustified, criminal charges could follow. If they find it was justified, a retroactive permit could be issued, according to Western Ag Network. USFWS is also accepting public comment on how the wolf reintroduction program is being run.
Four Orphaned Pups and a Program Under Pressure
The King Mountain pack now consists of just four yearling pups. With no adult wolves to teach them, experts worry the pups will turn to livestock instead of wild prey. Colorado has 32 known wolves total as of May 2026 — 18 adults and 14 pups — according to GearJunkie. CPW has paid out over $700,000 in wolf-related livestock compensation statewide this biological year.
Colorado's wolf program traces back to Proposition 114, passed by voters in November 2020 by just 50.91% to 49.09% — fewer than 57,000 votes. It was the first wolf reintroduction ever mandated by a public vote rather than a scientific agency. The tension between ranchers and regulators that has defined the program since day one now has a dead matriarch at its center.
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