For Immediate Release: July 22, 2026
Contact:
Delaney Rudy, Western Watersheds Project, 970-648-4241, delaney@westernwatersheds.org
CPW Announces Formation of New Piney Ridge Pack and Confirms Pups
The formation of the Piney Ridge Pack marks four successful pack formations in Colorado, and CPW confirmed litters of wolf puppies were born to all four packs this spring.
DENVER — This morning, CPW announced the formation of the Piney Ridge wolf pack, adding another growing family to three others in the state: the Three Creeks pack, the One Ear pack, and the Copper Creek pack. CPW confirmed that all four packs have successfully reproduced this spring, meaning an estimated additional 4-6 pups per pack will be bolstering Colorado’s small wolf population, especially important after a winter with no reintroductions.
“We are elated to learn of this new pack formation and to welcome this year’s wolf pups into the world and our great state,” said Delaney Rudy, Colorado Director for the Western Watersheds Project. “The establishment of these wolf families is a step toward restoring wolves and ecological balance to Colorado, and will improve the health of the land, wildlife, and watersheds in our shared home state.”
This is especially heartening in the context of the losses that Colorado’s wolves have suffered in the last few years. This spring, the King Mountain mother wolf was shot by a ranch hand north of Eagle, orphaning her pups. The Copper Creek pack was embroiled into conflict after having been lured by an unburied carcass pit on a ranch in Grand County, beginning a habituation and conflict pattern that resulted in the death of the father wolf and CPW killing a yearling pup last May, and in June, CPW killed the one remaining pup that had evaded capture by CPW in the fall of 2024.
“This is a great opportunity to be amazed by the resilience of wolves, including the Copper Creek Pack,” said Rudy. “Again and again, they have been plunged into conflict with non-native livestock on private and public land, yet continue to survive, find native prey, and expand their family units and packs.”
Pack formation is great news for Colorado’s wolf program as a whole. Wolves in established packs are more likely to survive and successful coexistence measures are easier to implement in established pack territories.
###
Western Watersheds Project (WWP) is a non-profit organization with more than 50,000 members and supporters. WWP’s mission is to protect and restore western watersheds and wildlife through education, public policy initiatives, and legal advocacy. WWP works to ensure that public lands and their wildlife, cultural, and natural resources are protected for future generations.
