Wolf reintroduction plan may bring 30-50 wolves to Colorado over next 3-5 years

Colorado Parks and Wildlife will release dozens of gray wolves in its first draft of the wolf reintroduction plan. Voters narrowly approved the reintroduction plan in 2020. 

CPW has spent the past two years looking at how to bring the predators back to Colorado even as it appeared a pack moved into the state. 

The nearly 300-page report includes a plan of how wolves will be reintroduced. The first draft of the plan has been long-awaited. So much so that on Friday morning, CPW's website crashed because of interest in the plan.

The initial plan is to transfer between 30-50 wolves from the Northern Rocky Mountain States over a three to five-year period. 

There are two large areas that have been chosen for the wolves' new Colorado habitat: the first is a northern area along the I-70 corridor between Glenwood Springs and Vail, down the Roaring Fork Valley; the second location is just south, between Monarch Pass and Montrose. 

Ranchers concerned about livestock have been assured that lethal methods can be used to protect livestock and those ranchers would be eligible for financial compensation depending on how many livestock are killed.

As the wolves become more established, hunters could face shortened hunting seasons to preserve deer and elk populations. 

According to a study, the average gray wolf in Idaho consumed about 16½ ungulates (hooved animals like elk and deer) per wolf per year. 

In order for wolves to be removed from the endangered list, there would need to be an established population of at least 50 wolves per year for four years.

There will be five in-person public comment sessions before the draft plan is finalized. There are also opportunities to submit online comments through Feb. 22nd. CPW expect final edits to the plan will be completed by March. The first pack of grey wolves will be reintroduced by winter of 2023.  

For more information on how you can weigh in on the issue, visit engagecpw.org.

Janie Vanwinkle is a livestock producer on the Western Slope and said she is happy stakeholder input was considered.

"We need to figure out how to make it successful for the players not just the voters who a lot of them will not have an impact," she said. "We have to figure out how to make it work for everybody and, frankly, including the wolves."

When it comes to managing the predators, CPW's plan to respond to conflict allows for both non-lethal and lethal options wherever it occurs. However, some believe that part of the plan lacks clarity.

"We wanted to see some differentiation between treatment of wolves on public versus private land," said Lindsay Larris of Wild Earth Guardians, a wildlife conservation group. "It's hard to have a one size fits all approach, but to not have more of a process of steps to go through, it seems like there's going to be a lot of confusion and maybe more jumping to the lethal management."

With more than a year before reintroduction would begin, there is still time to raise any concerns.

"We need to make sure folks are reaching out and their voices are heard," Vanwinkle said.