Wildness on the brink as a dangerous predator wiped out decades ago is quietly reintroduced

Gray wolves are being secretly shipped across the US-Canada border and released into the mountains of Colorado.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife refuses to disclose where wolves imported from British Columbia are released to protect predators and the staff responsible for transporting and releasing them.

The operation began on January 10 with the transfer of at least 15 gray wolves from British Columbia to Colorado.

Authorities confirmed that the wolves arrived at the Eagle County airport, but declined to reveal their final release location. This despite previously sharing a video of a release prior to December 2023.

A petition to delay reintroductions brought by ranchers concerned about livestock losses has already been dismissed.

Wolves in Colorado are federally protected and cannot be hunted or killed.

Now, Residents of three counties (Garfield, Eagle or Pitkin) are nervous.

Garfield County Commissioner Perry Will has expressed growing community concern over the lack of transparency around the release, which is part of the state’s wolf restoration plan.

Wolves are being shipped from British Columbia and released into the mountains of Colorado (a previous release of wolves in December 2023)

A pack of gray wolves was spotted in a US national park for the first time in a century, officials said. One still shows a wolf from another pack in Northern California.

“People are more upset because they’re so secretive than because the wolves are here,” Will said. Cowboy State Journal.

“Some are even upset,” he added.

The predators could be released in any of the three counties, but local officials say they have been left in the dark.

“Due to the complexity of the operation, and to ensure the safety of our staff and animals, CPW will not share details about the wolf release while the operation is underway,” Gonzales told Dailymail.com.

Colorado rancher Howard Cooper, a member of the Colorado Conservation Alliance, said he struggles to understand why the governor’s office and CPW can’t be more transparent about the release program.

Some residents also expressed concerns about adequate disease screening given the rapid timeline.

However, the CPW insists that the wolves are being closely examined.

“The wolves will be examined and treated for possible diseases and infections at the place of origin,” the CPW stated to reassure locals.

The agency plans to continue releases for up to five years, with the goal of establishing 10 to 15 wolves per year on Colorado’s Western Slope.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife has released five endangered gray wolves on public lands in Grand County as part of the state’s reintroduction plan.

Colorado rancher Howard Cooper, a member of the Colorado Conservation Alliance, expressed concern about adequate disease detection given the rapid timeline.

Garfield County Commissioner Perry Will expressed growing community concern over the lack of transparency.

“We remain committed to working across parties as we continue to implement the voter-approved law,” said CPW Director Jeff Davis.

‘We have been working all year in preparation to have more wolves on the landscape with an improved Conflict Minimization Program, the addition of new staff to work alongside producers, strengthened partnerships and guidelines for producers when it comes to chronic predation and lethal management considerations. .’

Rachael Gonzales, public information officer for the northwest region, said adding British Columbia wolves to the existing population in Colorado will increase the likelihood of mating, reproduction and pack formation.

“Established wolf packs defend territories, which will allow CPW to monitor patterns within a territory and improve the agency’s ability to collaborate with producers on active behavior and coexistence strategies to better protect livestock,” Gonzales added.

British Columbia has between 5,300 and 11,600 wolves.

Officials note that they are specifically targeting wolves from areas that do not overlap with livestock to avoid introducing predators that are already involved in livestock conflicts.

Eric Odell, director of CPW’s wolf conservation program, emphasized the benefits of reintroducing the beasts.

“This new population of gray wolves will provide additional genetic diversity to Colorado’s wolf population,” he said in a statement.

Rachael Gonzales, Public Information Officer for the Northwest Region, wrote: “Adding British Columbia wolves to the existing population in Colorado will increase the likelihood of mating, reproduction, and pack formation.”

“We’ve been told there are locations in Eagle County that are suitable for releases, but we haven’t been told anything since,” Eagle County Commissioner Jeanne McQueeney told Cowboy State Daily.

He said a future public news conference will provide more details about the location and number of wolves they plan to release.

All residents know is that the wolves will be released at select sites in Garfield, Eagle or Pitkin counties.

This despite the fact that the majority of residents in both Garfield and Eagle opposed the reintroduction of wolves when Colorado passed a law in 2020 by the narrowest of margins: 50.91 percent to 49.09 percent.

“We’ve been told there are locations in Eagle County that are suitable for releases, but we haven’t been told anything since,” Eagle County Commissioner Jeanne McQueeney told Cowboy State Daily.

There is also concern about Colorado wolves moving north toward the Wyoming state line, where they may be “shot on sight.”

Colorado Parks and Wildlife aims to “restore and manage” a population in the state “using the best scientific data available”

‘If you had a crystal ball, what would you think? I think at some point in the next four to six weeks, we’ll have a crossover, or maybe a couple of crossovers,” Colorado resident John Michael Williams told Cowboy State Journal.

And we’ll see how they shoot some of them.

The first wolves were released in December 2023 at an undisclosed location in Grand County during an invitation-only event.

They included two juvenile females and two juvenile males, as well as one adult male.

CPW collected genetic material (tissue and blood samples) before fitting each animal with a GPS satellite collar for tracking.

The wolves also received vaccinations and were treated for parasites.

The wolves will travel up to 140 miles from where they are released, according to the Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan, which is why they were released at least 60 of the state borders of Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico and sovereign tribal lands in southwestern Colorado.

But these states aren’t the only ones that can potentially expect wolf sightings.

In November, a small pack of gray wolves was spotted in Lassen Volcanic National Park for the first time in nearly 100 years.

It was believed that wolves had been hunted to extinction in the area.

The herd, consisting of a mother, a father and their two cubs, was spotted by a camera trap just south of the sprawling tract in Northern California, the U.S. Forest Service said.

“Historic day for Colorado and for the first time in history: Today we released five wolves, three males and two females, in Grand County,” the U.S. Forest Service said of the rare sighting.

‘The wolves were captured in Oregon, where our veterinarians and biologists evaluated them, collecting genetic material (tissue and blood samples) before fitting each with a GPS collar for tracking. The wolves received vaccinations and were then placed in cages and flown to Colorado for release into the wild.’