15 wolves from Canada released into Colorado under voter-approved initiative

DENVER — A second group of wolves has been released in Colorado as part of a controversial, voter-driven initiative to reintroduce the predators to the state.

Fifteen gray wolves from Canada were set free in the central mountains over three days last week, but state wildlife officials did not announce the operation until Sunday, a day after it was completed. Colorado Parks and Wildlife noted in its announcement that its offices had been watched and that staff safety had been at risk, noting threatening phone calls and social media posts.

In addition, a female and four pups previously released elsewhere in Colorado were also moved to the same region as the Canadian wolves — Eagle and Pitkin counties, the agency said. The region is home to ski resorts and vast amounts of public land used for recreation. The five relocated wolves were part of a pack captured in August after a male that was part of the group repeatedly killed local livestock in Grand County, northwest of Denver, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Canadian wolves — seven males and eight females — were captured in the central interior of British Columbia in coordination with local authorities in an area where wolves are sometimes culled to help revive the caribou population, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said.

“It has been an honour to work with Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff to support their conservation priority. It is a great example of collaboration and the connections we have in the large landscapes of North America,” Hillary Ward of the B.C. Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship said in a statement included in the Colorado announcement.

Colorado residents largely in cities voted to reintroduce wolves in 2020, clashing with those in rural areas who feared attacks on their livestock. The first 10 wolves were released just over a year ago, and since then, there have been over two dozen claims of depredations — when wolves kill livestock or working dogs.

Two of the 10 wolves introduced in December 2023 were illegally shot, according to Parks and Wildlife.

Colorado officials have said they anticipate releasing 30 to 50 wolves within the next five years with the goal of filling one of the last major holes in the Western U.S. for the species, which in years past has ranged from northern Canada to the desert Southwest.