Wyoming’s New Deputy Game And Fish Director Is Former Controversial Colorado Chief

Jeff Davis, who reportedly resigned in lieu of being terminated from his job as director of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, has been hired as the new deputy director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

Davis helmed Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) amid a storm of controversy over the state’s wolf reintroduction program. 

In November, Davis resigned instead of being terminated, according to a settlement agreement obtained by 9NEWS Investigates in Denver. 

The agreement was signed by Davis and Dan Gibbs, the executive director of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which oversees CPW, 9NEWS reported.

At the time, it was reported that Davis was given a job as an advisor in DNR. However, it was recently announced that he’s accepted the job with Wyoming Game and Fish.

In an email response to Cowboy State Daily, Game and Fish confirmed that Davis has been hired, is expected to start work in February and won’t be available for interviews until then.

Previous Interaction With Nesvik

Davis will serve as deputy under Game and Fish Director Angi Bruce, who replaced former Director Brian Nesvik.

Nesvik went on to become chief of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).

In October, about a month before Davis left CPW, Nesvik sent a memo to Davis stating that Colorado could not obtain any more wolves from Canada without violating a previous agreement with FWS.

The last batch of wolves reintroduced to Colorado, in January 2025, were flown in from British Columbia, Canada.

As Davis prepares to leave Colorado for Wyoming, Colorado’s wolf reintroduction program is at a standstill.

There were plans to bring in another batch of wolves in either December 2025 or this month. But with Canada apparently off the table, and no wolves available from other states, those plans are on indefinite hold.

Impossible Circumstances

Colorado resident John Michael Williams told Cowboy State Daily that as he sees it, Davis was caught in an impossible set of circumstances with Colorado’s wolf reintroduction program.

Williams runs the Colorado Wolf Tracker Facebook page, which has been critical of wolf reintroduction.

“I think Jeff Davis was in kind of an impossible situation here in Colorado,” he said. "I don’t think he was able to call the shots regarding the (wolf)  program. I think the governor (Jared Polis) and other people were telling him what to do.

“He was basically being pulled in several different directions."

His departure from CPW might have been driven by clashes with Polis over wolf management, Williams said.

“We’ll never know the details, because there wasn’t anything on the official records, not even on the agreement that was obtained by 9NEWS,” he said.

Davis took the helm at CPW in May 2023. 

Colorado’s wolf reintroduction program officially kicked off in December 2023 with the release of 10 wolves brought in from Oregon.

Copper Creek Woes

Troubles soon started with Colorado’s new wolves.

One pack formed by reintroduced wolves, the Copper Creek Pack, was blamed for numerous livestock kills.

Under Davis’s direction, that pack was captured and placed in captivity. Members of the pack were released again in May and were again blamed for killing livestock.

Many considered the handling of the Copper Creek pack to be a serious mistake on Davis’s part, Williams said.

“He made some tough calls. He made the call to trap the Copper Creek pack, with a lot of people disagreed with,” Williams said. "He made the call to release them in Pitkin County (Colorado), which many people didn’t like."

However, Davis was also praised for some of his wolf management actions, he said.

For example, he later authorized the “lethal removal” of three wolves that had reportedly been killing livestock, Williams said.

‘All-Consuming Issue’

It’s tough to assess Davis’s job performance outside of trying to manage wolf reintroduction, Williams said.

“I think it was the all-consuming issue for him. I think a lot of other things got put on the back burner and set aside,” he said.

The outcome of Davis’s tenure as CPW director might have been inevitable, and might not fairly reflect on the rest of his career and abilities, Williams said.

“I’ve met with him in person. He’s a nice guy. He’s a smart guy,” Williams said. "He had a proven record in Washington state, otherwise he would never have been hired in Colorado. 

"But he was put in a position here that I don’t think anybody could have been successful in."

Prior to coming onboard with CPW, Davis worked for more than 20 years with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. 

He was a biologist, forest and fish manager, deputy assistant director and the assistant director of the habitat program.

Will Likely Succeed In Wyoming

There’s been talk that once he’s joined Game and Fish, Davis will try to convince Wyoming to send wolves to Colorado, something that Gov. Mark Gordon has flatly stated won’t happen.

“I don’t think that’s a valid concern,” because there’s no reason to think that’s what Davis wants, and even if he did, he won’t have the pull to override Gordon’s decision, Williams said.

Now that he’s clear of Colorado’s wolf reintroduction program, Davis’s tenure in Wyoming probably won’t be controversial, Williams added.

“I think he has every chance of succeeding in Wyoming, and I think he will,” he said.

Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.