Misinformation fiasco drives suspected wolf poachers to Pitkin County ranch
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A storm of wolf-release misinformation struck the Western Slope over the past three weeks, culminating in an erroneous article claiming a batch of wolves was released on a Pitkin County ranch.
Colorado Politics published “First batch of Canadian wolves released on private land in Colorado’s Pitkin County, sources say,” on Tuesday, naming the family members of the ranch, according to a Lost Marbles Ranch owner.
The owner wished to remain anonymous.
“It takes one to light a wildfire,” the ranch owner said of the misinformation. “It is nearly impossible to put it out and return to pre-fire condition.”
By Tuesday afternoon, a vehicle approached the ranch owner’s residence as a result of the article.
The people said they were looking for the wolves just for site-seeing purposes. They were wearing camouflage and carrying guns, according to a report by the ranch workers.
“If it’s just a function of misinformation, you can nip it in the bud, that’s one thing. But I had some yahoos show up on my property,” the ranch owner said, adding, “They’re all decked in camo and guns — I’m not going to buy it.”
When asked to leave, they parked on a county road behind a bush just off the property, where they remained for part of the afternoon, according to the owner.
“This is putting the safety of my family, the livestock, the wolves, all in jeopardy, and all of the allegations were false,” the owner said of the Colorado Politics article published on Tuesday. Two of the ranch owners asked the publication to redact the article when they read it on Thursday morning, which the publication did.
The vehicle approaching the house was not technically breaking any gun laws because Colorado is an open carry state, said Parker Lathrop, Pitkin County Chief Deputy of Operations.
However, the vehicle passed a gate and a no trespassing sign as they entered the property, according to the owner, and were quickly asked to leave.
But this would not have been the first attempt to poach a wolf, or other animal, nor would it have been the first illegal wolf killing in Colorado. A wolf introduced in 2023 was illegally shot and killed in Grand County last September.
There is currently a $100,000 U.S. Fish and Wildlife reward for information related to the wolf shot in the stomach in Grand County last year.
In a separate incident, a non-wolf Colorado poacher was fined over $40,000, received two years supervised probation, and lost his hunting license for five years.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife told the press this week they will release 15 British Columbia wolves in Colorado during the second half of January. They wouldn’t say where the wolves would be released, but identified Eagle, Pitkin, and Garfield counties as potential areas.
But rumors about the wolf introduction to Lost Marbles Ranch began circling weeks ago.
The ranch owner said they first got a call on Dec. 4 from Eden Vardy, executive director of the Farm Collaborative in Aspen, who asked if Lost Marbles would be open to hosting wolves after the new year.
The owner denied the request because they were worried about their livestock as well as their neighbors’ livestock. The owner was also concerned about the safety of their family from “anti-wolfers” and didn’t want to attract unwanted attention due to the divisive nature of the topic.
“We’re stuck in the middle,” the owner said. “Both sides think we’re the enemy.”
By Dec. 28, Colorado Wolf Tracker, a Facebook group tracking wolves in the state, had shown on a map that Lost Marbles Ranch was planning to host wolves, with a comment saying the land owner must have “lost their marbles.”
At this point, the owner was getting calls from neighbors and friends asking them if the ranch was planning to host wolves.
The owner immediately called Colorado Parks and Wildlife, confirming that the agency must get property owners’ consent to release wolves on their property. The agency said they couldn’t help the spread of misinformation because they don’t address social media. The owner couldn’t take to social media because their accounts had previously been hacked.
But rumors continued after the new year. Apart from Colorado Wolf Tracker, the Roaring Fork Swap Facebook page circulated information about the ranch family members, putting their names to the public, “adding fuel to the fire,” the owner said.
And an anonymous source claimed they witnessed Colorado Parks and Wildlife trucks and trailers driving toward the ranch, further strengthening the rumors.
The owner said they were harassed after the Colorado Politics article was released on Tuesday. The publication put forth a redaction on Thursday, and the reporter apologized for the mistake. The owner reached out to The Aspen Times after the redaction.
“But the damage is already out there,” the owner said. “This went out on Tuesday.”
Colorado Politics could not be reached for comment.
Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.
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