DENVER—The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has threatened to take back control over management of wolves from Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) due to ongoing problems with the state’s gray wolf importation program, narrowly mandated by voters via Proposition 114 in 2020.
“This is a warning: if Colorado does not get control of the wolves immediately, we will!” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum on X shortly after a warning letter was sent to CPW in December.
The federal warning, addressed to CPW Acting Director Laura Clellan, threatens to terminate the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between FWS and CPW arranged under the Biden administration. The 10(j) rule within the agreement labels Colorado’s wolf population as non-essential or “experimental,” and grants CPW management authority over translocation of wolves into Colorado.
FWS says Colorado violated the terms of the agreement when releasing 15 Canadian gray wolves between January 12 and 18, 2025 without any notification to citizens. The federal wildlife agency goes on to criticize CPW’s recent re-release of a historically depredating imported wolf found wandering in New Mexico.
The wolf in question (#2403) originates from the Copper Creek pack, which has cost $450,000 in compensation just to Grand County ranchers, and has a history of livestock depredation in Pitkin and Gunnison counties as well. The roaming wolf was captured and re-released back into Grand County, from where the depredating pack was previously removed.
Grand County Commissioners issued a letter to Gov. Polis regarding the wolf’s re-release, saying CPW had violated their own prohibition on translocating known depredating wolves.
CPW wrote back saying wolf 2403 did not meet the criteria for “chronic depredation.”
“We determined that lethal removal was not appropriate, and the wolf needed to be released,” CPW said, “The area selected best allows 2403 to contribute to CPW’s efforts to establish a self-sustaining wolf population while concurrently attempting to minimize potential wolf related livestock conflicts.”
Grand County sent a response explaining CPW’s violation of the translocation rule, their disregard for chronic pack history, and CPW’s insufficient mitigation.
Grand County Commissioner Merrit Linke says CPW is sending conflicting messages.
“It’s sort of a mixed message because the Governor and the higher ups say we have to stick to the plan because that’s what the voter wanted, but we don’t have to stick to the plan when it affects the stock growers,” Linke told Complete Colorado.
While Grand County was not involved in the FWS warning, Linke says it was likely a result of the ongoing back and forth.
“We didn’t know anything about the letter at the time,” Linke said, “I think that was probably a result of conversations that people in Washington had with some people here.”
The FWS letter puts CPW on a Jan. 18 deadline to report all wolf conservation and management activities from Dec. 12, 2023 to present day, as well as a narrative summary over the release of the 15 wolves.
FWS says it will terminate the MOA and take back wolf management authority in Colorado should CPW fail to respond within the timeframe.
