First 5 wolves reintroduced in Colorado under plan opposed by ranchers

Colorado wildlife officials, alongside Gov. Jared Polis (D), announced the successful release of five gray wolves into public space in the Rocky Mountains on Monday. 

The wolves, whose reintroduction has sparked ire among ranchers, were captured in Oregon, where Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) veterinarians evaluated whether they were fit for relocation in the Centennial state.

The animals, who were selected based on age, sex, health and body condition, included two juvenile females, two juvenile males and one adult male, according to the state parks agency.

“Today, history was made in Colorado,” Polis, who played an active role in the release, said in a statement. “For the first time since the 1940s, the howl of wolves will officially return to western Colorado.”

After a week of litigative squabbles, a federal district judge late Friday rejected a motion from ranching groups that had sought to block the release of the wolves. 

While recognizing that the petitioners were “understandably concerned about possible impacts of this reintroduction,” Judge Regina Rodriguez ruled their complaints were insufficient to halt the release. 

Two ranching groups, the Gunnison County Stockgrowers’ Association and the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association, filed their complaint last Monday, arguing the release would be harmful to livestock and the economy.  

But this reintroduction of the species has been mandated by voters in a 2020 ballot initiative, which earned 50.91 percent of voter support and went on to become a 2022 state statute. 

Under the statute, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service vacated a Trump administration rule that delisted gray wolves from the Endangered Species Act. 

The statute thereby returned authority over the wolves to the federal agency, while directing Colorado wildlife officials to develop a reintroduction plan no later than Dec. 31. 

“The return of wolves fulfills the will of voters,” Polis said Monday. “What followed were three years of comprehensive listening and work by Colorado Parks and Wildlife to draft a plan to restore and manage wolves.”

The governor stressed that this effort “included public meetings in every corner of the state and was inclusive of all points of view.”

“The shared efforts to reintroduce wolves are just getting started and wolves will rejoin a diverse ecosystem of Colorado wildlife,” Polis added. 

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials said they intend to repeat Monday’s process until at least 10 to 15 wolves have been released into Colorado by mid-March. 

The agency expressed hopes that it would release 30 to 50 wolves over the next three to five years, using animals captured from the nearby northern Rockies in nearby states. 

“This is a historic day for Colorado,” Jeff Davis, director of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, said in a statement. 

“We’ll continue releasing animals based on our plan to have wolves not just survive but thrive in Colorado as they did a century ago,” Davis added.