Gray wolves reintroduced to Colorado relocated within the state amid controversy

Large male gray wolf walking on a hill in the forest. (Photo credit: Getty Images)

Less than nine months after Colorado released its first gray wolves into the wild as part of a controversial reintroduction program, two of the 10 released wolves, along with three pups born this year, will be relocated from their current area. Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials made the announcement this week following reports of the animals attacking nearby livestock.

In December 2023, 10 gray wolves captured in Oregon were released onto public land in Summit and Grand counties in Colorado. This latest plan to relocate the Copper Creek Pack, as the wolves are called, is seen as a potential setback in the program, which barely passed in a 2020 referendum that aimed to re-establish gray wolves in Colorado and create a permanent, self-sustaining wolf population.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff capture gray wolves in Oregon. (Photo credit: Colorado Parks and Wildlife)

"The ultimate goal of the operation is to relocate the pack to another location while we assess our best options for them to continue to contribute to the successful restoration of wolves in Colorado," Jeff Davis, the director of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, said in a statement and added that the recent "decision to capture and relocate the Copper Creek pack was made with the careful consideration of multiple factors" and is "by no means a precedent for how C.P.W. will resolve wolf-livestock conflict moving forward."

The reintroduction of gray wolves can lead to more resilient and diverse ecosystems, benefiting a wide range of plant and animal species. Wolves help control populations of large herbivores like deer and elk which prevents overgrazing and allows vegetation to recover, promoting a healthier ecosystem.

Wolves also help control disease among herbivores by preying on the weakest members, leading to healthier animal populations. Additionally, healthier ecosystems with balanced predator-prey relationships can store more carbon, helping to mitigate the effects of climate change.

According to Colorado State University, gray wolves, originally native to Colorado, were wiped out by the mid-1940s. The 2020 referendum to reintroduce the species has sparked renewed conflicts between cattle ranchers and livestock farmers as well as hunters-who all view the wolves as a danger-and conservationists, who highlight their possible ecological advantages.

Michael Saul, the director of the Rockies and Plains program at Defenders of Wildlife, a wildlife conservation nonprofit, told The NY Times he is perplexed by this latest decision to relocate the wolves because Colorado law "strikes a balance" between the animals and the needs of ranchers and added that any rancher who loses livestock is generously compensated.

Defenders of Wildlife strongly denounced the decision to relocate, calling it a "risky, short-term solution" and "a major setback for human-wolf coexistence in Colorado." They called the decision one driven by politics and "not rooted in science-based management" and said it stands to delay the progress of the reintroduction program significantly.

"This regrettable decision appears to put the demands of intransigent and uncooperative ranching associations above the intent of Colorado's reintroduction law, which requires restoration of wolves based on the best available science while providing financial and logistical support to (livestock) producers," the statement read.

Pack of gray wolves. (Photo credit: Getty Images)

Marc Bekoff, behavioral ecologist and professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, told the NY Times that in order to reintroduce the wolves to Colorado successfully the pack needs time to adapt to its new environment. Bekoff noted the fact that a pack was formed and three pups were born within the first year of the program is incredible progress and is concerned that relocating the pack could harm the wolves. Trapping wolves individually and releasing them into the wild, particularly removing the pack's leader, could cause its dissolution, he said, and stressed that if relocation is necessary, it should be done with the entire group, which is challenging.

Dr. Bekoff described the Copper Creek pack as vital for the future of Colorado wolves and is worried that human intervention is already jeopardizing their adaptation.

"My concern is that the wolves haven't had time to adapt, habituate," he told the NY Times. "People might disagree with me, but this is really a sign that maybe Colorado isn't ready for wolves."