This story by Chase Woodruff appeared on Colorado Newsline on October 9, 2023.
Colorado wildlife officials have cleared one of the last and largest hurdles to the state’s efforts to begin the reintroduction of gray wolves on the Western Slope by the end of this year.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife said Friday that it had reached a one-year agreement with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to receive up to 10 wolves from that state beginning in December, just ahead of a deadline set by Proposition 114, the wolf reintroduction ballot measure approved by Colorado voters in 2020.
“We are deeply grateful for Oregon’s partnership in this endeavor, and we are now one step closer to fulfilling the will of the voters in time,” Gov. Jared Polis said in a press release.
“The wolves will be released at select sites in Colorado as soon as possible once they arrive in the state to minimize stress on the animals,” Eric Odell, CPW’s wolf conservation program manager, said in a statement. “CPW will aim to capture and reintroduce an equal number of males and females. We anticipate that the majority of animals will be in the 1- to 5-year-old range, which is the age that animals would typically disperse from the pack they were born in.”
CPW officials plan to capture up to roughly 15 wolves this winter and transport them to Colorado for release within a large region centered on Glenwood Canyon. The agreement with Oregon ends the uncertainty over where the first of those wolves will come from, and whether the state would be able to put “paws on the ground” before the statutory December 31 deadline.
Officials in states including Wyoming, Montana and Idaho — where ranching and hunting interests have fueled a conservative backlash to wolf reintroduction programs begun in the 1990s — have pointedly declined to assist Colorado’s efforts. Wildlife officials in Washington, another possible source, expressed openness to assisting Colorado but said it was unlikely they could meet the December 31 deadline.
Under the agreement, Oregon wildlife officials will share information about wolf locations and best practices for capture, with CPW staff and private contractors responsible for the capture operations themselves and all associated costs.
In addition to screening wolves for disease and other health problems, “CPW will make efforts to transplant wolves that have not been involved in repeated depredations,” the agency said. While the majority of wolves don’t routinely prey on livestock herds, the specter of “problem wolves” that become habituated to the behavior has been cited as a concern by ranchers and state lawmakers who have remained skeptical of reintroduction.
Another key hurdle for the state’s efforts was cleared last month, when federal officials approved an exemption that will allow wolves that threaten livestock to be killed in certain circumstances, which the Endangered Species Act would otherwise prohibit. Proposition 114 requires the state to provide compensation to agricultural producers for confirmed wolf depredations of livestock.
Colorado’s 11-member Parks and Wildlife Commission finalized the wolf reintroduction plan in a unanimous vote in May. CPW staff plan to capture, transport and release 10 to 15 wolves in the winter months between December and March, repeating the process for the next two to four years until a stable population is established.
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