Colorado Told It Can’t Import Wolves from Canada for Reintroduction

Depending on which Coloradan you ask, wolves in Colorado could be a good thing or a bad thing. The topic is very polarizing to residents, to say the least. Earlier this year, 15 gray wolves were released in the state of Colorado from Canada, and 10 gray wolves were initially reintroduced in December 2023.

READ MORE: See Where Wolves Have Been Spotted in Colorado

Colorado Parks and Wildlife's Gray Wolf reintroduction plan is to add more wolves annually until 2026, when a sustainable population has been reached. However, it appears that Colorado Parks and Wildlife will have to find another option for where to get its wolves for the state.

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According to KDVR, Colorado Parks and Wildlife received a letter this month from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stating that Colorado could not source gray wolves for reintroduction purposes from outside of the Rocky Mountain region.

Why Canadian Wolves Are Now Off-Limits

Meaning that no gray wolves can come from Canada. Rather, gray wolves reintroduced to the state of Colorado would have to come from Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and portions of Oregon, Washington, and Utah.

This new development comes from the 10 (j) rule from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This rule states that the use of a range of conservation tools is to "recover" endangered and threatened species, to ensure they can survive on their own in the wild.

READ MORE: A Timeline of Colorado’s Wolf Reintroduction Plan

CPW has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and a recently signed contract with British Columbia’s Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship. This MOU and contract allow CPW to translocate 10-15 wolves this winter in partnership with British Columbia. This MOU, as well as last year’s partnership, were based on consultations with USFWS and were signed before the letter from USFWS was received.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife told KDVR.

What’s Next for Colorado’s Wolf Release This Winter

Currently, it is not known at this point if Colorado Parks and Wildlife will release any additional gray wolves into the wild of Colorado this winter.