PRESS RELEASE
RBC | Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) experts kicked off capture operations of gray wolves in British Columbia on Friday, Jan. 11 as part of its 2025 capture season in support of the Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan. The agreement with the B.C. Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship allows up to 15 wolves to be translocated and released in Colorado this year. The commencement of capture operations follows work 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. Additionally, at the January Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting the Commission adopted the staff recommendation regarding the citizen petition to delay gray wolf restoration. The operation is expected to last up to two weeks.
Ultimately, and in alignment with voter intent with Proposition 114, CPW will recover and maintain a viable, self-sustaining wolf population in Colorado while balancing the need to manage interactions between wolves, people and livestock.
Adding wolves from British Columbia to the existing population in Colorado will increase the likelihood of pairing, breeding and pack formation. Established wolf packs defend territories, which will allow CPW to monitor patterns within a territory and will improve the agency’s ability to collaborate with producers on active behavior and coexistence strategies to best protect livestock.
CPW is responsibly managing the funding associated with the capture and transport of the wolves.
• CPW staff will work with biologists from the B.C. Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship to capture wolves. British Columbia has an abundant gray wolf population, estimated to be in the range of 5,300 to 11,600 animals. They are widely distributed throughout the province and their status is not currently considered to be a conservation concern.
• Wolves will be examined and provided treatment for possible diseases and infections at the source sites.
• Collars will be placed on wolves, which will inform CPW about the behaviors and survival of reintroduced animals.
• Wolves will be transported in crates to Colorado via aircraft.
• 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.
• Gray wolves from this area of B.C. do not overlap with areas where livestock are present, so there are no concerns about reintroducing wolves that are from packs that are involved in situations of repeated livestock depredations.
Press releases will be available on cpw.state.co.us/news. Subscribe to receive CPW press releases using the online form or follow CPW’s Facebook page. To find the latest information on wolves in Colorado and movement activity maps, visit CPW’s Wolves in Colorado web page and sign up for the monthly Gray Wolf Reintroduction eNews.
Wolf selection will follow the guidance of the Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan. Animals with major injuries—such as several broken canines, missing eyes, fractured or missing limbs, or mange or lice infection—will not be chosen for reintroduction. This selection process is crucial to ensure the health and adaptability of the reintroduced wolves to their new environment. CPW will not translocate wolves from B.C. that are from packs currently involved in situations of repeated livestock depredations.
Considerations for this year’s releases:
• CPW will share the sex, weight and approximate age of gray wolves translocated from B.C. this year on the Western Slope of Colorado in Garfield, Eagle and/or Pitkin counties.
“We remain committed to working with all parties as we continue to implement the law as passed by the voters,” said CPW Director Jeff Davis. “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.”
“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,” said CPW Wolf Conservation Program Manager Eric Odell. “This new source population of gray wolves will provide additional genetic diversity to Colorado’s wolf population.”
CPW plans to release 10-15 gray wolves on the West Slope per year, for a total of 3–5 years, as outlined in the Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan.
West Slope lawmakers respond to wolf release in 2025
RBC | House Speaker Julie McCluskie, Senators Dylan Roberts and Marc Catlin, and Representatives Elizabeth Velasco and Meghan Lukens today released the following statement on wolf reintroduction:
“The voter-imposed reintroduction of wolves in Colorado has had a challenging, and at times, disappointing beginning for our ranchers, on-the-ground CPW staff, and communities on the Western Slope. Coexistence will only be accomplished with adequate support for, input from, and most importantly, respect for the individuals and communities that have to deal with all the consequences of wolves on a daily basis. As more wolves are being released into more counties across our region, we will continue to amplify the voices of our ranching communities who have rightly demanded seven reasonable supports, agreements, and clarity from CPW before this next round of animals are on the ground.
“This past week, CPW committed to having all seven of those asks in place as soon as possible and we are monitoring that commitment very closely. We hope that this next round of releases and the impacts it will bring over the following calving and production season will go better than it did last year. Should problems arise or commitments fail to be honored, we are prepared to exercise our power as a co-equal branch of government to do everything we can to protect our constituents, amplify valid concerns, and ensure that coexistence is equitable.”
