A plan to import 15 more wolves to Colorado from Canada may violate federal law.
Wolves are listed as an endangered species here, so Colorado Parks and Wildlife needs a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to relocate wolves here from other states. The permit issued by USFWS in 2023 lists six states where Colorado can source wolves. It doesn’t list Canada, where CPW got 15 wolves last year and plans to get another 15 wolves this year.
Former congressman and current gubernatorial candidate Greg Lopez says USFWS dropped the ball by allowing CPW to import wolves from Canada, which he says is a clear violation of its federal permit.
Tala, a 14-year-old timber wolf, howls while roaming in her enclosure at the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center (CWWC) in Divide, Colorado on March 28, 2023. CWWC’s 35 acre property is home to 18 wolves, and offers daily tours. In 2020, Colorado voters passed Proposition 114, which required Colorado Parks and Wildlife to reintroduce gray wolves to designated lands on the western side of the Continental Divide.
JASON CONNOLLY/AFP via Getty Images
“The terms and conditions are that they can only get wolves from the Northern Rocky Mountains. They identify those states by name,” said Lopez.
The states listed in the permit are Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and parts of Washington, Oregon, and Utah.
“If they go to Canada, it’s not allowed in the permit, and it’s also against the law to import wolves from another country,” says Lopez.
He spearheaded a letter signed by groups representing outfitters, wool growers, ranchers, and farmers that puts USFWS on notice of the violation.
CPW says it consulted with USFWS before importing wolves from Canada last year. But the federal agency has a new director under President Trump, and he appears to have a new approach to the issue.
CPW says it is “evaluating recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) communication regarding available sources for gray wolves from the delisted Northern Rocky Mountain population areas.”
Those are the six states listed in the permit. So far, Oregon is the only one open to relocating wolves, and only the initial 10 released in 2023.
Lopez says if CPW wants to relocate wolves from other states, it needs a new permit, which he says will take at least six months, “I think a pause is definitely needed and it’s a reasonable request because that will allow everybody to catch a breath and make sure that we do this correctly.”
The letter asks USFWS to “provide a written response within 21 days detailing the correcting measures FWS and CPW will take to bring Colorado’s wolf reintroduction activities into full compliance with federal law.”
CPW says it “continues to evaluate all options to support this year’s gray wolf releases in alignment with the approved Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan and the (federal permit).”
Last week, Montrose County Commissioner Sean Pond introduced an ordinance prohibiting the introduction of non-native animal species in the county, specifically citing gray wolves from Canada.
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