<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3aCc3J_1Gxq3HwI00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3aCc3J_1Gxq3HwI00" width="1428" height="1071" >After losing a young filly, northwest Colorado rancher Kaitlynn Hayes Wood says livestock producers and wildlife deserve better consideration in the state’s wolf management decisions. A healthy two-year-old filly named Sweetpea was alive Sunday afternoon, November 1. By Monday morning, her family stood in the pasture, looking at what remained of an animal they had raised, cared for, and considered part of their family. For Wood, the loss has brought the state’s wolf reintroduction program much closer to home and renewed questions for accountability, livestock protection, and the long-term consequences of restoring wolves to the landscape. Wood suspects a wolf may have been responsible for Sweetpea’s death, although Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) has not confirmed the cause.Wood said the family had been away in Winnemucca, Nevada, for a rodeo and returned home early Sunday, November 1. That afternoon, they checked and wormed the horses and moved them between pastures. Sweetpea was accounted for, alive, and appeared healthy. However, Wood said the warning signs had started days earlier. Wood’s horses, typically quiet and respectful of fences, had been acting unusual. On Saturday, October 31, some had run through a fence panel in a separate pasture, something Wood said was very out of character. “Things don’t run through the fence unless something is chasing them,” Wood said. On the morning of November 2, during cold, rainy weather chores, Wood found Sweetpea dead, and another horse with visible scratches on its shoulder. Wolves were not unfamiliar to Wood and her family. She said CPW had previously informed them of wolf activity in the area, including a pack with pups approximately 20 miles southeast of the property. Wood had also heard wolves howling near her home. Despite knowing wolves were in the region, Wood said she never expected to lose one of her horses. “Did I think it was going to happen to us? No,” she said. “I never thought it could happen to us.” More Than a Dollar Amount…Sweetpea’s loss carries a different weight for Wood, whose operation revolves around horses. Wood said she has between 120 and 160 bucking horses, along with approximately 130 yearlings and cow-calf pairs recently weaned. The horses are athletes, livelihood, and family members, representing years of care, training, and investment. “My animal is irreplaceable,” she said. “If it was a cow or a sheep, there is a dollar sign on it. But a horse, not really. It’s one of my kids.” The loss has left Wood worried about the safety of her remaining horses, especially with winter approaching and animals still depending on pasture. Wood said the family had always understood that living in wolf country carried some risk, but experiencing a potential loss firsthand has changed that perspective. She also believes the conversation surrounding wolf reintroduction needs to include more than livestock numbers and financial compensation. Compensation programs can help producers recover some of the financial costs associated with confirmed wolf depredation. Wood said they cannot account for the personal connections families develop with their animals. “They’re our four-legged kids,” she said in a social media post following Sweetpea’s death. A Call for Accountability…Wood’s primary concern moving forward is accountability from the people responsible for managing Colorado’s wolf reintroduction program. She said she wants better training, more research, honest communication, and greater consideration for the agricultural communities that share landscapes with the wolves. Rather than focusing solely on individual livestock losses, she believes the state needs to consider the broader effects of its wildlife management decisions on rural families and agricultural operations. The rancher said she has received considerable support since sharing Sweetpea’s story online, but has also faced criticism from people who assume her concerns mean she wants wolves eliminated. She said that is not her position. “I love all animals,” she said. “Do I think wolves need to be here? Absolutely not. They need to go back where they came from; the wolves don’t deserve it either.” Wood also believes the relocation process has created challenges for the wolves, which must adjust to unfamiliar surroundings and establish themselves in a new environment. She said the wolves’ welfare should be part of the discussion, just as the safety of livestock and the livelihoods of ranching families should be. “I’m defending both my lifestyle and the animal that died and the wolves,” Wood said. For Wood, accountability means acknowledging that wildlife restoration affects more than the animals being reintroduced. It also affects the people who make their living raising livestock and maintaining agricultural operations across the state. Colorado’s Wolf Population Continues to Grow….Colorado’s wolf reintroduction program began in December 2023, when the state released its first 10 gray wolves west of the Continental Divide under the voter-approved Proposition 114. An additional 15 wolves were released in January 2025. According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), Colorado had 45 known wolves as of September 24, 2026, including 20 pups born that year. The population included four reproducing packs, a fifth group of four siblings traveling together, and several wolves not currently associated with packs. CPW also reported adult wolf survival of 61 percent during the 2025-26 biological year, which ran from April 1, 2025, through March 31, 2026. Pup survival during that period was 82 percent. Wolf management remains an evolving issue as the population develops and conflicts with livestock producers continue. CPW completed three lethal wolf removal efforts on September 7 and 9, 2026, before suspending its chronic depredation directive on September 30. Under the suspension, CPW will evaluate future lethal removal decisions individually using a more conservative approach. CPW has said it plans to review its chronic depredation policy and implement revisions before the next wolf biological year begins April 1, 2027. For livestock producers, the growing wolf population and changing management policies mean continued uncertainty about what sharing the landscape with wolves will look like in the years ahead. Looking Ahead. . .Wood believes the state needs more research, better preparation, and greater transparency before moving forward with additional management decisions. For Wood, the issue is not simply the number of wolves on the landscape or the success of a restoration program. It is whether the state can balance wildlife recovery with its responsibilities to the agricultural communities living alongside those animals. The family is now left watching over its remaining horses and hoping another loss does not occur. “Until it actually happens to you, you don’t think it’s going to,” Wood said. For her, accountability means ensuring that Colorado’s agricultural families and the wildlife affected by reintroduction are both considered as the program moves forward. </div></body>

Block Source: westernagreporter.com

Misinformation

Clickbait

Old or repetitive news

Explicit content

Location not relevant

After losing a young filly, northwest Colorado rancher Kaitlynn Hayes Wood says livestock producers and wildlife deserve better consideration in the state’s wolf management decisions. A healthy two-year-old filly named Sweetpea was alive Sunday afternoon, November 1. By Monday morning, her family stood in the pasture, looking at what...

Wolf Accountability Called for by Colorado Rancher

NewsBreak

After losing a young filly, northwest Colorado rancher Kaitlynn Hayes Wood says livestock producers and wildlife deserve better consideration in the state’

Wolf Accountability Called for by Colorado Rancher

Comments / 20