Federal Pressure Forces Colorado To Halt Wolf Reintroductions

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette

Colorado Parks and Wildlife, facing mounting criticism from the Trump administration over its management of the wolf reintroduction program, announced Wednesday they will not bring in any new wolves to the state for the 2026 winter season.

CPW was turned down in November by Washington state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Washington residents criticized Colorado for mismanaging the program.

CPW director Jeff Davis resigned in lieu of termination weeks later.

The CPW announcement didn’t mention the pushback the agency is getting from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which on Dec. 18 demanded Colorado provide a complete report of all gray wolf conservation and management activities between Dec. 12, 2023 — the day the first wolves from Oregon were released in Colorado — to the present.

Fail to do so, warned Brian Nesvik, the head of USFWS, and the federal government would terminate Colorado’s authority to manage the wolves.

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