Canada will supply Colorado’s next batch of wolves for reintroduction

The next wolves to be released in Colorado as part of the state’s reintroduction effort will come from British Columbia in Canada, wildlife officials said Friday.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife will capture up to 15 wolves from the Canadian province this winter, the agency announced in a news release. CPW previously had planned to capture wolves from the land of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington, but the tribes rescinded the agreement in June, citing concerns from tribal nations in Colorado.

The capture-and-release operation will begin in December and could last until March, according to CPW. Biologists from the British Columbia Ministry of Water, Lands and Resources will assist.

“We learned a great deal from last year’s successful capture and transport efforts and will apply those lessons this year as we work to establish a self-sustaining wolf population in Colorado,” said Eric Odell, CPW’s wolf conservation program manager, in the release.

The wolves will be examined for injuries and illnesses before being transported to Colorado. Sick or injured wolves will not be transported, and neither will wolves from packs “currently involved in situations of repeated livestock depredations,” CPW said.

CPW’s wolf management plan for the voter-mandated effort identified Idaho, Montana and Wyoming as ideal sources of wolves, but those states have declined Colorado’s requests to use their wolf packs as a source.

CPW biologists captured the first batch of reintroduced wolves in Oregon and released them in Summit and Grand counties in December.

Three of those 10 wolves have since died. One of the surviving wolves is back in captivity with her four pups after a series of livestock killings.