DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado Parks and Wildlife received a letter this month from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, informing the state agency that it could not source gray wolves for reintroduction to Colorado outside of the Rocky Mountain region.
In 2023, the state sourced gray wolves from Oregon that were released into the state. But in January, CPW released 15 Canadian gray wolves into the state, sourced from British Columbia.
A letter sent by USFWS Director Brian Nesvik cautions the state agency from trying to source wolves outside of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, as well as portions of Oregon, Washington and Utah.
“We have reason to believe that CPW may be seeking to capture, transport, and/or release one or more wolves from areas outside of the specified NRM Areas outlined in the 10(j) rule,” Nesvik wrote. “To the extent that these reports are true, such actions are violative of the 10(j) rule. If CPW is currently engaged in such activities, CPW must cease and desist any and all efforts related to the capture, transport and/or release of gray wolves not obtained from to the NRM Areas.”
A Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologist checks on a gray wolf inside a crate after the wolf was unloaded from a transport plane, January 2025. Five wolves arrived from British Columbia, Canada during this same transport. 
A gray wolf waits in a holding pen in British Columbia, Canada, before its transport to Colorado in January 2025. CPW’s Wildlife Research Scientist and Wolf Conservation Program Manager help to lift a captured wolf from a helicopter in British Columbia, Canada, in January 2025. 
Staff unloads a gray wolf from a helicopter in British Columbia, Canada, in January 2025. A wildlife capture crew carries a gray wolf to a transport helicopter in British Columbia, Canada, in January 2025. A wildlife capture crew collars a gray wolf on a frozen lake in British Columbia, Canada, in January 2025. The collared wolf was released to assist biologists and pilots in locating its pack for possible future captures. Gray wolves run across snow-covered terrain during capture operations in British
Columbia, Canada, in January 2025.A capture helicopter prepares for takeoff in British Columbia, Canada, in January 2025. 
Gray wolf sits in a temporary pen awaiting transport to Colorado during capture operations in British Columbia in January 2025. (Courtesy Colorado Parks and Wildlife)
USFWS is involved in the reintroduction of gray wolves to Colorado because it is a federally listed species. In its letter to Colorado sent on Oct. 10, the agency described the 10(j) rule as a conservation tool, allowing USFWS to designate a population as experimental if it will be released into a suitable natural habitat outside of its current range.
“With the experimental population designation, the specified population is treated as threatened under the (Endangered Species Act), regardless of the species’ designation elsewhere in its range,” USFWS explains online.
CPW told FOX31 it is still evaluating its options and the USFWS letter.
“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,” the state agency said.
CPW added that, with respect to its possibly sourcing wolves from western Canada, gray wolves in the delisted population in the Northern Rocky Mountains are not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, and so the provisions “do not apply to these unlisted populations.
Gov. Jared Polis’s office said that the state and CPW are committed to continuing the reintroduction of gray wolves as outlined in the plan adopted by the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission.
“The Governor’s Office and CPW are in touch with the Department of Interior about the letter and CPW continues to evaluate all options to support this year’s gray wolf releases in alignment with the approved Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan and the 10j,” the Governor’s Office told FOX31 in a statement.
The last time CPW released gray wolves into Colorado was in January of this year. The first time CPW released wolves into Colorado was in December 2023. It’s unclear when or where CPW intends to release more gray wolves this upcoming winter.
Anthony Sutton is a business strategist and writer with a passion for management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. With years of experience in the corporate world, he shares insights on business growth, strategy, and innovation through management-opleiding.org.
