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Colorado’s wolf reintroduction initiative continues to face strong opposition ahead of the planned release of a second group of wolves to the state in 2025. In 2020, Colorado voters narrowly approved the reintroduction of gray wolves with a ballot measure that opponents are now looking to repeal. Ten gray wolves from Oregon were released in western counties in December 2023, and a second release is planned for this year.
Today, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) voted in a meeting to deny a petition to pause reintroduction of gray wolves to the state. A group of 26 organizations, mostly livestock producers, submitted the petition in September requesting that CPW implement better strategies for mitigating wolf-livestock conflicts before reintroduction efforts continue. CPW director Jeff Davis recommended ahead of the meeting that the group deny the petition. Commissioners voted 10-1 to uphold his recommendation.
Petitioners claimed that the reintroduction has threatened agriculture and caused economic harm as livestock producers suffer financial losses due to predation, and that a pause in reintroduction is necessary to work out rancher-friendly solutions. Backers of the 2020 ballot measure argue that the apex predators help maintain a balanced ecosystem, and opponents of the petition argued that delaying the restoration program would jeopardize the success of wolves’ recovery in Colorado.
Ahead of public comment, Director Davis affirmed the commission’s dedication to the wellbeing of both the animals and Colorado’s agriculture community.
“The value of these rural communities…they deliver a lot of conservation benefit that they don’t, in my opinion, always get credit for,” Jeff Davis said. “At the same time, these animals are pretty magnificent.”
Director Davis said in Wednesday’s meeting that CPW would measure success of reintroduction both by the sustainability of the wolf population and the continuity of ranching across the state.
In another effort against the state’s wolf reintroduction efforts, anti-wolf groups announced on Friday that they would introduce a ballot measure in 2026 to repeal the 2020 vote that led to reintroduction of gray wolves over the past year. Colorado Advocates for Smart Wolf Policy filed a draft proposition with the Colorado Legislative Council on January 3, according to Summit Daily. Legislative Council Staff will review the proposition later this month, the first of many steps to actually getting it on the ballot.
“The presence of wolves in Colorado has stirred up controversy due to the potential threats they pose to livestock and local wildlife,” Patrick Davis, the political consultant behind the movement to repeal the reintroduction measure, wrote on smartwolfpolicyco.com. “Ranchers and farmers have reported increased losses of livestock and crops, while hunters and sportsmen have expressed concerns about dwindling game populations.
Part of the state’s reintroduction plan includes a program to compensate ranchers for losses caused by wolves. According to coloradopolitics.com, ranchers submitted claims totaling over half a million dollars last week.
For decades, tensions have run high between Colorado ranchers and the state over the topic of wolf reintroduction, which continues to be a divisive issue in the state. According to the Colorado Sun, two wolves have been illegally shot since reintroduction began in 2023.
“Wolves elicit a lot of emotions. A lot of anger, fear,” said Jeff Davis during Wednesday’s CPW meeting. “Wolves in particular sometimes can really dehumanize us against one another.”
Regardless of Wednesday’s vote to continue wolf reintroduction, disputes are likely to continue. But as the state’s next wolf release looms, proponents of reintroduction remain undeterred: “We’re implementing this law and we’re going to be successful,” Jeff Davis told the commission.
From 2025