Feds Open Public Comment Period On Colorado Wolf Reintroduction

By Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado

DENVER–The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is requesting public comment and information regarding Colorado’s gray wolf importation program. This request comes just months after the federal agency threatened to take over wolf management in Colorado due to ongoing problems.

As previously reported by Complete Colorado, FWS sent an official warning to Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) management saying Colorado violated the terms of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) by releasing 15 wolves in January 2025 without informing citizens. FWS also criticized CPW’s management of the Copper Creek pack, which has a history of livestock depredation, and which cost Grand County ranchers alone $450,000 in losses.

On April 4, FWS issued an action notice requesting public input on CPW’s implementation of the 10(j) rule, which labels Colorado’s wolf population as non-essential or “experimental,” giving CPW management authority over wolf translocation.

“Over the past few years, many wolf-livestock depredation events have been verified in Colorado, and the total number of verified depredations and associated claims has vastly exceeded the funds currently available under Colorado’s existing livestock compensation scheme,” reads the FSW notice, in part.

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