(The Center Square) – Gray wolves from British Columbia will soon be transported to Colorado, state wildlife officials say.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife said it’s working with the B.C. Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship to find up to 15 wolves for reintroduction in the state.
“We are excited to be working with B.C. to bring together our combined experience and expertise while ensuring the safety of animals and staff,” CPW Wolf Conservation Program Manager Eric Odell said in a statement. “This new source population of gray wolves will provide additional genetic diversity to Colorado’s wolf population.”
CPW began reintroducing the species to the state in December 2023, with 10 wolves from Oregon. The agency is required to reintroduce wolves after Colorado voters narrowly approved Proposition 114 in 2020.
Wolves captured in B.C. will be inspected and collared, then transported by plane in crates to Colorado before being released at “select sites,” CPW said. The wolves won’t come from an area with existing livestock and aren’t “from packs currently involved in situations of repeated livestock depredations.”
The wolf reintroduction efforts are broadly opposed by ranchers and hunting organizations across the state. One coalition sought to delay more wolf introductions with a citizen petition, which the Parks and Wildlife Commission denied in a 10-1 vote last week.
CPW said on Saturday it has worked “to adopt a number of wolf-livestock conflict minimization measures, including a range rider program, a definition of chronic depredation, the development of a depredation response operations team, effective non-lethal tools, a site assessment program, a carcass removal program, and a communications plan.”
“We remain committed to working with all parties as we continue to implement the law as passed by the voters,” CPW Director Jeff Davis said. “We have been working all year in preparation to have more wolves on the landscape with an improved Conflict Minimization Program, the addition of new staff to work alongside producers, strengthened partnerships, and guidelines for producers as it relates to chronic depredation and lethal management considerations.”
Another effort seeks to put a measure on the 2026 ballot that would halt more wolf reintroductions.
