Colorado can’t bring in any more wolves from Canada as part of its reintroduction program, says former Wyoming Game and Fish Director Brian Nesvik, now director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Trump administration.
An agreement between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) doesn’t authorize Colorado to get wolves from outside the Northern Rocky Mountain region, Nesvik says in an Oct. 10 letter to CPW Director Jeff Davis.
Greg Lopez, a former Colorado congressman and Republican running for governor of that state, told Cowboy State Daily that he blew the whistle on the apparent flaw in the wolf reintroduction plan.
That prompted Nesvik’s letter, he said.
There’s a concerted effort to delay and possibly shut down Colorado’s wolf reintroduction program, Lopez said.
Opponents of the program are expected to show up in force at the CPW Commission’s next meeting, scheduled for Nov. 14 in Sterling, Colorado, he said.
However, Colorado still has a legitimate agreement with Canadian officials to acquire wolves, CPW spokesman Travis Duncan said in an email to Cowboy State Daily.
Future Of Colorado Wolf Program In Doubt?
Nesvik’s move could cast doubt on the future of Colorado’s wolf reintroduction program.
CPW in January released 15 wolves flown in from British Columbia, Canada, in the second stage of its wolf reintroduction program. The plan is to bring in more wolves from British Columbia later this year or in early 2026.
But Nesvik’s letter states that would be in violation of an agreement between CPW and the FWS. Also, it goes against the 10(j) rule.
That rule designates Colorado wolves as a nonessential experimental population under the Endangered Species Act.
Oregon provided the first batch of wolves reintroduced to Colorado in December 2023.
Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon flatly refused to send wolves to Colorado.
Nesvik: No More Wolves From Canada
In his letter, Nesvik states that wolves can be obtained from the “Northern Rocky Mountain Area” (NRM).
That includes Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, eastern third of Oregon, eastern third of Washington and northcentral Utah.
“We have reason to believe that CPW may be seeking to capture, transport and/or release one or more wolves from areas outside of the specified NRM Areas outlined in the 10(j) rule,” Nesvik states in the letter.
“To the extent that these reports are true, such actions are violative of the 10(j) rule,” he adds. "If CPW is currently engaged in such activities, CPW must immediately cease and desist any and all efforts related to the capture, transport and/or release of gray wolves not obtained from those NRM Areas."
CPW Might Still Move Forward
CPW is taking Nesvik’s letter under consideration and is evaluating “all options” for moving forward with plans to release more wolves, Duncan said in his email to Cowboy State Daily.
“CPW is currently evaluating recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service communication regarding available sources for gray wolves from the delisted Northern Rocky Mountain population areas,” he said.
Prior to Nesvik sending his letter, agreements were drawn up between CPW, FWS and Canadian officials, he added.
“CPW has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and a recently signed contract with British Columbia’s Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship,” Duncan said. "This MOU and contract allow CPW to translocate 10-15 wolves this winter in partnership with British Columbia.
“This MOU, as well as last year’s partnership, were based on consultations with USFWS and were signed before the letter from USFWS was received."
Wolves in western Canada, like those in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, are not under ESA protection, Duncan noted.
“The provisions of the U.S. Endangered Species Act do not apply to these unlisted populations,” he said.
‘A Failed Experiment’
Lopez said he started looking into the wolf reintroduction program in June, at the prompting of some rural Colorado residents.
He said he noticed what he thought was a discrepancy in the process — that wolves were only supposed to come from the aforementioned states. There was no mention of Canada as a legitimate source.
Lopez said he sent letters to Nesvik and FWS Regional Director Matt Hogan in September.
At the end of the month, a response came, essentially stating the agency couldn’t do anything, he said.
So, he had a conversation with Hogan, and in a “matter of days,” Nesvik sent the letter, he said.
Lopez said that as far as he and others questioning the reintroduction program are concerned, the wolves from British Columbia are in Colorado illegally.
They should either be sent back to Canada or placed in a sanctuary, he said.
As for the rest of the wolves now in Colorado, ranchers should have the right to shoot them if they are “harassing or stalking” livestock, Lopez said.
He added that he would like to form a committee to oversee Colorado wolf management, including himself, members of the public and representatives from FWS and CPW.
In light of Nesvik’s letter, he’s optimistic that any further planned releases of wolves can be shut down.
Colorado’s wolf reintroduction program was poorly conceived from the start, Lopez said, adding that, “I think this experiment has been tried. It failed, and it’s time to stop the experiment."
A coalition has formed, calling for a halt to wolf reintroduction, he added.
It includes the Colorado Outfitters Association, The Colorado Wool Growers Association, the Gunnison County Stockgrowers Association, the Southwestern Colorado Livestock Association, The Colorado Conservation Alliance, and the Colorado Mule Deer Association, he said.
Is There Really A Problem?
Claims that the wolf reintroduction program is flawed are rooted in politics, not fact, Colorado resident and wolf advocate Samantha Miller told Cowboy State Daily.
“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s rule never limited Colorado to sourcing wolves solely from the Northern Rockies,” said Miller, the senior carnivore campaigner with the Center for Biological Diversity.
“The agency’s own environmental review makes clear that wolves may come from a range of healthy populations, including those in the Great Lakes states, and Colorado already demonstrated that by bringing in wolves from British Columbia last winter with no objection from the Service,” she said.
Miller said she’s hopeful that CPW’s wolf reintroduction won’t get shut down “despite federal political maneuvering.”
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
