DENVER— Delaying the release of gray wolves into Colorado would be disastrous for the state’s wolf reintroduction program and could violate state law, conservation groups said in a letter today to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission. The groups urged the commission to reject a petition from the livestock industry seeking to pause the historic effort to re-establish gray wolves in the state.

“Industry bullies are trying to undermine the will of voters who want a thriving wolf population in Colorado’s wild areas,” said Alli Henderson, southern Rockies director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The historic work of last year’s reintroduction will be wasted unless the state proceeds with the next wolf releases as planned. We’ll do everything possible to support Colorado’s plans to return wolves to their rightful home range.”

Today marks one year since Colorado’s first release of five gray wolves on state land in Grand County. A second release is planned for early 2025, with 10 to 15 wolves from British Columbia, Canada.

“Coloradans are invested in restoring wolves to our state, and this petition attempts to undermine the democratic intent to achieve a self-sustaining wolf population here,” said Delaney Rudy, Colorado director for the Western Watersheds Project. “The viability of Colorado’s wolf population depends on an influx of individuals and genetic diversity through continued reintroductions without delay.”

In 2020 Colorado voters approved Proposition 114, which requires the wildlife officials to restore a self-sustaining population of wolves to the state starting in 2023. A 2023 management plan requires Colorado Parks and Wildlife to reintroduce 10 to 15 annually, and 30 to 50 wolves total, over three to five years.

“Coloradans voted for wolf restoration. Colorado’s ecosystems need wolves. And Colorado’s tiny, nascent wolf population needs continued reintroductions,” said Lindsay Larris, conservation director for WildEarth Guardians. “This petition is just another in a long line of attempts by a subset of the livestock industry to obstruct state law and undermine the will of Colorado voters.”

A petition submitted to the commission by the Middle Park Stockgrowers Association and 20 other livestock industry and anti-wolf groups calls for wolf reintroductions to be paused until Colorado Parks and Wildlife makes certain changes to its rules aimed at favoring the livestock industry.

Today’s letter from conservation groups says pausing the 2025 release would be disastrous for Colorado’s wolves. Failure to expand their population and gene pool would reduce chances for wolves to reproduce, which is inconsistent with the law’s requirement to establish a self-sustaining wolf population. It also would be a significant waste of taxpayer resources.

“Continued reintroductions are necessary to realize Colorado’s historic, democratically mandated effort to reestablish a self-sustaining wolf population,” said Nicholas Arrivo, managing attorney for the Humane Society of the United States. “The petition’s flimsy attempt to skirt the law and the will of the voters should be rejected.”

Colorado Parks and Wildlife has already developed a more robust program that addresses each of the livestock groups’ concerns and requested changes. These include new tools, support and resources to minimize wolf-livestock conflict, like establishing a range rider program and carcass management best practices. Colorado’s wolf management program also provides compensation for any livestock killed by wolves.

“These livestock groups are asking CPW to break the law in order to make rule changes that were already implemented,” said Tom Delehanty, attorney for Earthjustice. “Their petition provides no valid basis to halt reintroduction efforts. We encourage CPW to follow the law and stay the course.”

“Everything that Colorado Parks and Wildlife has put in motion since spring aims to ensure that our livestock producers have the resources and knowledge necessary to protect their livestock and prevent conflicts,” said Rob Edward, president of the Rocky Mountain Wolf Project. “In particular, the work of the ad hoc committee charged with establishing a framework for defining and responding to incidents of ‘chronic’ depredation go to the heart of the petition to pause. By the time CPW Director Davis provides his update at the next commission meeting, the sum of agency actions will render the petition moot.”

“Colorado compensates the owners of wolf-killed livestock up to $15,000, the most generous compensation program in the country,” the letter states. “Nonetheless, anti-wolf livestock groups and their allies now seek to disrupt Colorado’s democratically enacted reintroduction effort, claiming deficiencies in the state’s management program.”

Scientists estimate that as many as 2 million gray wolves once roamed North America, including much of the contiguous United States. Because of government-sponsored killing programs, wolf numbers in the lower 48 states had dwindled to fewer than 1,000 animals.