Nesvik to Davis: Cease and Desist efforts outside 10(j) areas

Colorado Parks and Wildlife Director Jeff Davis has been told to cease and desist any efforts or activities seeking to capture, transport, and/or release wolves from areas outside the areas outlined in a late 2023 Memorandum of Agreement. In the Memorandum of Understanding between CPW and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the 10(j) allowed that gray wolves obtained from the delisted Northern Rocky Mountain areas, defined as Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, the eastern third of Oregon, the eastern third of Washington, and north-central Utah.

To fulfill the will of Colorado voters and ensure a successful reintroduction of gray wolves in Colorado, the Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan calls for the transfer of about 30-50 wolves over three to five years to establish a population in Colorado. CPW has worked to build important partnerships to make this happen, including the most recent with British Columbia.

According to a spokesperson, CPW has a MOU and a recently signed contract with British Columbia’s Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship. This MOU and contract allow CPW to translocate 10-15 wolves this winter in partnership with British Columbia. CPW also has an agreement with Alberta’s Ministry of Environment and Protected Areas. This agreement was finalized in December of 2024 to serve as another potential population source for the Colorado gray wolf reintroduction effort.

These agreements, as well as last year’s partnership with British Columbia, were based on consultations with USFWS and were signed before recent guidance from USFWS was received regarding available sources for gray wolves from the delisted Northern Rocky Mountain population areas.

To date, CPW’s translocation work in Canada has been directly with British Columbia. CPW previously worked under an agreement with Oregon for the initial releases in 2023. CPW said with respect to sourcing gray wolves from western Canada, like gray wolves in the delisted population in the Northern Rocky Mountains, gray wolves in Canada are not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The provisions of the U.S. Endangered Species Act do not apply to these unlisted populations.

According to CPW, they continue to evaluate all options to support this year’s gray wolf releases in alignment with the approved Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan and the 10(j) rule.