Colorado’s messy wolf introduction program took another turn after a ranch owner self-reported that one of her ranch hands shot and killed the breeding female from the King Mountain pack, one of the state’s four pup-producing wolf packs.
"It was in my field and in the act, running toward some mothers and baby calves when my (ranch) hand, saw her there. He shot two warning shots and shot a third one but he wasn't sure if he hit it. It was still running the last he saw it," Susan Nottingham, owner of the Nottingham Ranch in northwest Colorado, told the Coloradoan.
According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the King Mountain pack lives approximately 125 miles west of Denver between Steamboat Springs and Glenwood Springs.
Colorado placed wolves within its borders after residents narrowly passed a 2020 ballot initiative and did so as a nonessential experimental population under section 10(j) of the Endangered Species Act. The Colorado specific rule only allows for wolves to be killed in defense of a human life or if a wolf is caught in the act of attacking livestock or working ranch dogs.
“The evidence says it was in the act. He was doing what I pay him to do; take care of these cattle," Nottingham told the Coloradoan.
CPW is working alongside the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to investigate the case. Illegally shooting a wolf is a federal crime. Various reports indicate penalties may include fines up to $100,000, a jail sentence and loss of hunting or other privileges.
According to the Coloradoan, Nottingham runs about 1,100 cattle across her 20,000-acre ranch, which has a history of run-ins with wolves. She received compensation after wolves killed three calves in 2025 but no more after CPW investigations could not confirm wolves killed other animals.
Addressing a recent CPW Commission meeting, the soon-to-be-retiring CPW wolf conservation manager said the state’s wolf program is at an “inflection point” because of its continual struggles. Eric Odell has seen 14 of 25 wolves introduced into Colorado die, leaving adult wolf survival over the past year at just 61 percent. When asked to predict when Colorado will reach a population of 150 to 200 wolves, as suggested by the state management plan, he said he could not provide a definitive timeline because of survival rates, reproduction and other uncertainties.
In December 2025, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service threatened to take over CPW’s management of the wolf program, citing a violation of the 10(j) rule which allows CPW to import wolves from Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington or northcentral Utah. CPW captured and transported some wolves from Oregon but then acquired and released 15 more from British Columbia, Canada, without public notice and with a contract in place to get more. CPW later announced it would not translocate any more wolves during the 2025-2026 winter, while continuing to explore options for the 2026-2027 winter.
For Nottingham, her focus remains on the ground overseeing the day-to-day operations of her cattle business while also looking over her shoulder.
"What a situation for the state to put citizens in," she told the Coloradoan. "At this point I'm just so sick of all the wolf drama.”
About Hunt 2 Conserve
Hunt 2 Conserve is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Its mission is to advance a legacy of hunting and conservation by educating, activating and developing stewards and defenders of these fundamentally American ideals. For more information, go to hunt2conserve.org.
(Photo credit: Colorado Parks and Wildlife)
