Fourth-generation Colorado rancher Susan Nottingham acknowledges that one of her employees was behind the killing of the matriarch of the new King Mountain wolf pack in March.
“One of my employees ended up shooting the mother female. The investigation is still ongoing and extremely stressful, costing me tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees to protect myself and my employee from facing criminal charges,” she submitted on April 7.
USFWS is obtaining has handled the reintroduction of gray wolves in the state. It had received more than 31,500 comments from around the country as of Thursday, the day before the June 5 deadline it had set.
Nottingham’s letter criticized CPW for not granting the 20,000-acre ranch, which is in Eagle and Routt counties, a “chronic depredation lethal take permit” despite three confirmed deaths of her animals due to wolves in October 2024. CPW cited a historic trash dump that Nottingham’s outfitter used during hunting season in its denial. Her appeal was also denied.
The father of the King Mountain pack died in January 2026 while CPW officers attempted to replace his GPS collar. Left to their own devices, the mother and four pups moved into a hay meadow Nottingham owned, a place where more than 1,100 cows go to calve.
Nottingham estimates she ended the previous year 60 calves short, a loss she valued at approximately $180,000. She said she and her staff were on heightened alert, on edge and vigilant during the 2026 calving season.
Her ranch hand was tending the new calves on March 10 when he noticed the mother wolf running towards some cows and their calves. He fired two warning shots, Nottingham told the . He fired a third shot, unsure if it had hit the wolf, which ran off.
On March 11, CPW received a mortality signal from Wolf 2310’s collar.
“Colorado Parks and Wildlife is leading the mortality investigation in consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We are unable to share more information, including a final determination of the cause of death, while the investigation is ongoing,” CPW spokesman Luke Perkins said in a statement.
The King Mountain wolf pack was identified as its own group in the summer of 2025, and CPW highlighted it on social media, including providing video feeds from a trail camera. The mother of the King Mountain pups, an Oregon transplant, became a known entity to those watching.
Because gray wolves are considered an endangered species in Colorado, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has its own rule, known as 10(j), that applies when wolves and other predators can be harmed. Limitations include when livestock and working dogs are physically attacked or are being chased, molested or harassed in a way that would indicate they are about to be attacked.
The King Mountain case, if it moves forward, would be the first Colorado case where the 10(j) rule applies.
Colorado voters in 2020 approved Proposition 114, mandating the reintroduction of gray wolves west of the Continental Divide. The program remains highly controversial, but it has strong backing from Front Range residents.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife was put in charge of the program, which got underway in late 2023. Twenty-five wolves came in two waves — half of an eventual goal of 50 animals.
But of the 25 introduced, only a dozen or so are left. CPW is under intense pressure from wildlife advocates who don’t want to see any more losses and from the Trump administration, which wants to block future relocations, especially from Canada.
The state has tried to strike a balance between protecting the economic livelihood of ranchers and establishing an apex predator that was once active in the state.
“Wolves are vital members of many ecosystems and thrived in Colorado for a long period before being driven out of the state,” Thomas Kettner of Colorado Springs, wrote in . “At a time when the moose and elk populations are growing to levels that threaten wetlands and other ecosystems through over-grazing, we need more predators to help cull these herds.”
But ranchers argue that the CPW’s dual mandate of monitoring and protecting the new packs and of also investigating their attacks and making payments for damages creates an inherent conflict of interest that is harming them.
The issue has become even more politicized after the Trump administration issued a “desist” demand on importing wolves from Canada. In an October 2025 letter, USFWS Director Brian Nesvik threatened to strip CPW of oversight of the existing packs if the importation ban was not followed.
“The wolves are not at fault; they simply do not belong here and cannot survive,” Nottingham wrote. “Meanwhile, the emotional and financial stress on ranchers is immense and ongoing.”
