DENVER, Colo.— Colorado Parks and Wildlife released 15 gray wolves in Eagle and Pitkin counties over the course of three days last week. It was the second of several planned releases in the historic effort to re-establish a wolf population in Colorado.

“Like a majority of my fellow Coloradans I’m thrilled to welcome our newest wolf residents to their new and rightful home,” said Alli Henderson, southern Rockies director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “This release is a big step toward righting the historical wrong of wolf extermination in our state and fulfilling the will of the voters who supported this restoration. Wolves belong in Colorado, and I look forward to the day when we achieve a self-sustaining population.”

In 2020 Colorado voters approved Proposition 114, which requires wildlife officials to restore a self-sustaining population of wolves to the state by reintroducing 10 to 15 individuals annually, and 30 to 50 wolves total, over three to five years.

The release of 15 wolves was the result of a partnership with British Columbia, Canada, where the wolves were moved from. The Canadian wolves have no history of interaction or conflict with livestock.

It comes on the heels of a livestock industry attempt to derail the program by asking the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission to pause this year’s release. Commissioners rejected that request in line with the recommendation of Colorado wildlife director Jeff Davis, who said the state has made changes to the reintroduction program to reduce conflict with livestock. The vote was 10-1, upholding the will of the voters and showing confidence in the state wildlife agency’s administration of the program.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife also announced the release into the wild a young gray wolf mother and her four pups who had been held in captivity since last summer. The Copper Creek pack was the first litter of wolf pups born under the state’s reintroduction program. Their re-release represents a critical step in the restoration of the species to their rightful home within Colorado.

“I’m thrilled to hear that this wolf family is back in the wild,” said Henderson. “With so few wolves in Colorado, this family will play a leading role in restoring a self-sustaining population. The state wildlife agency did they right thing by releasing them.”

Last year Colorado Parks and Wildlife developed robust programs that are vital for keeping livestock and wolves alive, programs the agency continues to implement. These include cow carcass removal and handling, a state range rider program, a rapid response team to address conflicts, non-lethal conflict resources and education, and site assessments to identify and deploy non-lethal coexistence measures.

“The unfortunate situation that led to this family being captured in the first place was entirely preventable,” said Henderson. “There’s no excuse for livestock producers who chose not to take advantage of the state’s increased resources, education and funding to avoid and mitigate conflicts. I hope we’ll see more and more people showing leadership in the ranching community by using these tools to prevent needless suffering.”

Predation of wolves on livestock across the ranges they inhabit account for a small percentage of livestock deaths. In the northern Rockies, over 86% of livestock deaths are attributed to disease and birthing problems, with predation from wolves resulting in less than 1% of deaths. In Colorado, livestock producers can receive fair market value and up to $15,000 per animal for livestock and animals used for guard/herding purposes if a predation incident is confirmed by the wildlife agency.

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 dwindled to fewer than 1,000 animals.