Colorado used to be a native home to gray wolf (Canis lupus) which was historically distributed throughout all major habitat types in the state. By the mid-1940s, wolves were eradicated from Colorado because they killed livestock and game.
After a few decades, wolves were restored to Yellowstone National Park, but only a few have made it to Colorado. Under the U.S. Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966, the gray wolf was listed as an Endangered Species.
Plan to Reintroduce Gray Wolves
Eighty years after being eradicated in the state, gray wolves have become part of a plan to restore biodiversity in Colorado. After considering public input and consensus, officials received approval from the voters in 2020. On May 3, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission voted unanimously to approve a final plan to reintroduce gray wolves in the state.
Under the proposed plan, Colorado would release 10 to 15 wolves on state or private land every winter over the next 3 to 5 years. It is anticipated that a total of 30 to 50 wolves will be transferred over this time frame. As the animal's population grows, wildlife officials will ratchet down state-level protection. This means that the gray wolf species will be downgraded from "endangered" to "threatened" once 50 wolves are recorded. Finally, they will be delisted once a total of 150 members are recorded for two years or 200 wolves at any point.
Disapproval Against Canine Release
The campaign was not approved by everyone, though. Many hunters and ranchers in the state worry that the predators could kill their livestock and devastate game species. The Colorado Cattlemen's Association and Gunnison County Stockgrowers' Association appealed to stop the reintroduction of the canines.
These groups asked the judge to stop the reintroduction until a more thorough environmental impact statement is completed. They pointed out that the reintroduction could harm the endangered Gunnison sage grouse populations.
The request was part of a federal lawsuit filed by the two ranching groups against Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The lawsuit claims that the government agencies violated the National Environmental Policy Act as they failed to prepare an environmental impact statement about the wolves.
The request was denied by the U.S. District Judge Regina Rodriguez, claiming that the agencies complied with the policy through extensive public involvement, including opportunities for public comment and peer review. According to Rodriguez, potential harm to sage grouse or cattle does not rise to the level of irreparable damage that would prompt the court to intervene.
The reintroduction proceeded as planned on December 18, with the first 5 wolves released into a remote forest in Grand County. Experts chose wolves that are mature enough to hunt on their own. On December 24, additional 5 wolves were released by Colorado Parks and Wildlife as completion of an agreement to capture 10 wolves in Oregon for release in Colorado to restore a permanent population in the state. The details of release events for the next batch of wolves were not shared widely to protect the animals, their location, and the agency staff.
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