Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) announced on Wednesday, Jan. 21, that it currently has no plans for translocating additional gray wolves this release season and is continuing to explore options for translocations in winter 2026-2027.
“During this intermediate time, CPW will continue to meet with producers and other stakeholders, including U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to explore how to maximize the restoration effort and achieve our plan of establishing a self-sustaining gray wolf population in Colorado,” said CPW Acting Director Laura Clellan via a press release. “Our team has invested in a significant conflict minimization program, and we look forward to exploring how we continue to improve this program with producers to protect both livestock and wolves.”
CPW to comply with
federal request
CPW will fully comply with a request from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife to provide further information about the state’s voter-approved gray wolf reintroduction program in response to threats of a federal takeover of the three-year project to establish a resident wolf population in the Rocky Mountain state.
Clellan confirmed the move during the agency’s January CPW Commission meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, as she provided updates on recent developments that have complicated an already tense third round of gray wolf releases.
Clellan referred to a letter dated Dec. 18, 2025, addressed by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik to CPW.
That letter requests the state submit a complete report of all gray wolf conservation and management activities from Dec. 12, 2023, when the first wave of wolves was released in the Rocky Mountains, to the present.
The letter outlines two specific compliance inconsistencies in the agreement between the two agencies, specifically relating to the sourcing of wolves and the relocation of one wolf connected to a livestock kill.
If the report is not received by the 30-day deadline, Fish and Wildlife stated that it will pursue legal alternatives, including a management takeover of all wolves in Colorado.
This could include terminating the special permit allowing the state to lead the reintroduction, a move that would allow the federal government to pursue relocation and lethal removal of wolves “as determined necessary”, the letter states.
“The letter is not intended to make a final determination on any future program outcomes, but rather to document the management actions taken from Dec. 12, 2023, to the present,” Clellan said during the commission meeting. “The letter notes that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service may take further action based on information provided later this month, but no immediate changes are identified.”
Clellan further clarified that CPW was working on providing the requested information by the Jan. 18 deadline, with the intention of avoiding the removal of the state’s authority to head the ongoing reintroduction effort.
“I want to reiterate that CPW has coordinated with U.S. Fish and Wildlife throughout the gray wolf reintroduction effort, and complied with all applicable federal and state laws, as well as international treaties,” Clellan said. “This includes translocations in January of 2025, which were planned and performed in consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.”
The acting director also addressed the third wave of gray wolf releases scheduled for this winter in the southwest corner of the state, stating that “CPW continues to evaluate all options.”
The release has faced delays as recently updated federal guidelines state that wolves can only be sourced from Northern Rockies states where they are not listed as endangered, complicating a prior agreement to source the candids from British Columbia, which has since fallen through. The state has since been unable to secure a source population from other states or tribal nations.
“If we do not release wolves this season, the impact on restoration success from a biological perspective is dependent on several factors, including wolf survival and reproduction,” Clellan said, adding that the program has seen 10 mortalities out of the reintroduced 25 animals. “This is not far off from what is expected among wolves that do not live in a pack.”
Despite the fatalities, CPW has seen the establishment of several packs along with pups born this summer. While these are encouraging markers of success for reintroduction efforts, Clellan noted, “When populations are small, each individual becomes increasingly important.”
She added, “Not knowing the mortality rate over the next year, it’s going to be difficult to predict with certainty the overall impact of not completing a third year of translocations. If we have a high level of mortality, as we observed in 2025, we run a higher risk of not meeting the goal of establishing a self-sustaining population of wolves in Colorado, and having to spend more resources to do so.”
The agency’s Jan. 21 press release explains, “CPW has confirmed successful reproduction in four packs and its staff is working to determine how many pups made it through the summer and will be successfully recruited into the population. Female gray wolves give birth to an average litter of four to six pups.”
The state’s Colorado Wolf Management Plan recommends the state wildlife agency release 30 to 50 wolves over the course of three to five years. As of early 2026, the reintroduced wolf population is estimated to be just around 30 wolves.
Mortality of wolf 2504 confirmed
Late Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 20, CPW confirmed the mortality of wolf 2504.
According to the agency, it was alerted of the mortality of female gray wolf 2504 on Jan. 16 in northwest Colorado.
As a federally listed species under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating this mortality.
A final determination of the cause of death will not be made until the investigation is completed, including the necropsy, a foundational component of the overall investigation process, according to the agency. The wolf was part of the group of wolves translocated to Colorado from British Columbia in January 2025.
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