The Trump Administration tells the Colorado Wolves they must come from the US Rockies, not Canada
Fort Collins, Colo. (AP) – The Trump Administration is telling Colorado to stop importing gray wolves from Canada as part of the state’s recovery efforts, a move that could derail recovery plans this winter.
The state has been releasing wolves in the western part of the continent since 2023 after Colorado voters re-approved the Wolf Range in 2020.
This program has not been reliable in rural areas, where some wolves have attacked livestock. Now, following two winters of releases during the administration of President Joe Biden, Wolf opponents appear to be getting support from the Federal administration under President Donald Trump.
Colorado Wolves must come from north of the Rockies, US Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik told Colorado Parks and Wildlife Director Jeff Davis in a recent letter.
Colorado must “cease and desist from any efforts related to the capture, transport and / or release of gray warts that cannot be found” from the north of the mountain rocks, Nesvik wrote.
Most of those states — including Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, where wolves from Canada were reintroduced in the 1990s — have said they want no part of Colorado’s reintroduction.
That could leave Colorado in a bind this winter. The state plans to transport 10 to 15 wolves under an agreement with the British Columbia Ministry of Wheameleni, Land and Resource Management, Colorado spokesperson and wildlife spokesperson Luke Perkins said in a statement on Friday.
The agreement was signed before the State received the Oct. 10 from Nesvik, according to Perkins. He said the State is “continuing to evaluate all options to support this year’s gray wolf” after receiving “recent leads” from fish and wildlife.
Although some of Colorado’s reintroduced wolves come from Oregon, wolves have been released more recently from British Columbia.
The argument now is that the Federal Agency is required that wolves must come only from the North Sylly Mountain states when they designate the “Colorado trial population”.
The Federal Notice declares the 2023 designation transferred to the Northern Rockies region as “Preferred” and not a required source of wolves.
Wildlife advocate Lisa Saltzburg said in a statement that the Fish and Wildlife Service is “twisted language” in saying wolves cannot come from Canada or Alaska.
People in Colorado “should be proud of their state’s leadership in conservation and inclusiveness, and the Wolf Reckroduction program reflects those values,” Saltzburg said.
The Colorado Governor’s office and Colorado parks are contacting the interior department about the letter and are exploring “all options” to allow Wolf’s spokesperson this year, Gov. Jared Polis Polis Polis.
Fish and Wildlife spokesman Garrett Peterson, who said he would not be available until the end of the administration, did not return a message seeking comment.
