Colorado’s Wolf Reintroduction Faces Another Setback For Now

Colorado’s effort to reintroduce gray wolves has been put on hold.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife has confirmed it will not release additional wolves in the coming months after failing to secure animals from other states or tribal nations. According to a press release issued Jan. 21, the agency will continue exploring options for future releases, with the next possible window pushed to the winter of 2026–2027.

The pause adds new uncertainty to Colorado’s highly debated wolf restoration program, which has faced sustained opposition from ranchers and sportsmen across the region. Critics argue the effort was driven largely by urban voters with little connection to the realities of livestock production and wildlife management in rural areas. At the federal level, the Trump administration is reviewing whether to revoke the agreement that allows Colorado to manage wolves under the Endangered Species Act, a move that could halt any future state-led releases.

Voters narrowly approved the wolf reintroduction through a 2020 ballot initiative. Since then, Colorado has released 25 wolves over the past two winters. Those animals were captured in Oregon and British Columbia.

State officials had planned at least one more year of releases to help establish a self-sustaining wolf population, something that has not existed in Colorado since the species was eliminated by hunters and trappers in the early 1900s.

That plan fell apart after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ordered Colorado to stop importing wolves from Canada, saying the move would violate the federal permit governing the state’s wolf management authority. With the British Columbia option no longer available, Colorado officials attempted to find wolves domestically but were unsuccessful.

Several Republican-led states in the northern Rockies, including Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, have repeatedly declined Colorado’s requests for wolves. Washington state considered the idea but ultimately rejected it, citing challenges within its own wolf population. The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in eastern Washington also declined to participate, citing opposition from tribal nations within Colorado.

It remains unclear how the lack of new releases will affect Colorado’s existing wolf population. Four packs have formed since reintroduction began, each producing pups last spring. State wildlife officials plan to reassess the population later this summer.
At least 13 wolves have died since the program began in 2023, from a variety of causes. The most recent death involved a female wolf originally captured in British Columbia that was found dead in northwest Colorado. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating the cause.

Wildlife advocates say the pause in releases should limit any efforts to remove wolves that prey on livestock, arguing that each individual animal plays a critical role when population numbers are low. Colorado Parks and Wildlife acknowledged that concern in its announcement, noting that protecting the wolves already on the landscape may be essential if the state hopes to eventually establish a self-sustaining population, especially without a third year of translocations.