Political Sheet

Another Day, Another Damn Wolf Story

Closeup of a pack of wolves running on snow
Closeup of a pack of wolves running on snow
Written by Scott K. James

Denver elites cook up wild ideas from ivory towers while rural ranchers foot the bloody bill. Pitkin County welcomes back killer wolves and tells ranchers to suck it up. Welcome to eco-utopia—population: dead livestock.

Colorado’s favorite urban fairytale, releasing predator wolves into ranch country, is back for another sequel no one asked for. Denver7 reports that the Copper Creek wolf pack, known for attacking livestock, was re-released near cattle in Pitkin County. Because apparently, learned behavior applies to your golden doodle but not a pack of apex predators.

The Bullet Point Brief

  • In classic government brilliance, wildlife officials re-released a known livestock-killing wolf pack near ranchland. Gotta love science-based policy… if the science is fairy tales.
  • Ranchers who’ve lost cattle already to this same pack are understandably pissed, you know, because dead cows don’t pay bills.
  • State officials insist wolves have “an ecological role,” like bankrupting rural families and giving Boulder vegans warm fuzzies.
  • Governor Polis remains silent – too busy TikToking or alphabetizing his compost bin.
  • Another tragic example of policies made by people who couldn’t spot a cow patty if they stepped in it barefoot.

My Bottom Line

Let me break this down without any eco-jargon or Boulder buzzwords: Colorado dumped a bloodthirsty pack of wolves back near people’s livelihoods and called it environmental progress. The Copper Creek Pack isn’t some animatronic Disney experiment; it’s a group of actual predators with a history of killing livestock. But since the bureaucrats in their Patagonia puffer vests don’t lose sleep over things like profit margins or dead calves, they went ahead and played God anyway.

This isn’t about wolves anymore; hell, I’d take a wolf over another “robust stakeholdering” Zoom call any day. This is about ruling class arrogance dressed up as smart policy. Urban elites spin up these schemes from cocktail bars on Pearl Street and dump the consequences on folks they’ve never met (and hope they never will). When the cow carcasses pile up and rural families suffer real losses? Crickets — unless there’s an Instagram reel to be made blaming climate change.

These stories ARE tragic. Families getting smacked around by policies they had no voice in IS a statewide shame fest. Our state government increasingly seems focused on virtue-signaling from Denver/Boulder rooftops while the rest of us shovel their consequences out of our barns and fields. Wolves make great symbols until they eat someone’s paycheck. But hey, as long as progress feels good sipping oat milk lattes in LoDo, who gives a damn about western Colorado?

About the author

Scott K. James

A 4th generation Northern Colorado native, Scott K. James is a veteran broadcaster, professional communicator, and principled leader. Widely recognized for his thoughtful, common-sense approach to addressing issues that affect families, businesses, and communities, Scott, his wife, Julie, and son, Jack, call Johnstown, Colorado, home. A former mayor of Johnstown, James is a staunch defender of the Constitution and the rule of law, the free market, and the power of the individual. Scott has delighted in a lifetime of public service and continues that service as a Weld County Commissioner representing District 2.