The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has ordered Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) to halt its gray wolf reintroduction efforts, citing a breach of agreement. FWS Director Brian Nesvik issued a cease and desist letter on October 10, 2025, instructing CPW to stop all activities related to the capture, transport, or release of gray wolves not sourced from the Northern Rocky Mountains (NRM) area.
Following a 2020 ballot initiative known as Proposition 114, which mandated the reintroduction of gray wolves in Colorado, CPW released 25 wolves in northwestern Colorado. However, these actions have come under scrutiny because gray wolves are classified as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) across most of the contiguous United States. An exception exists for a delisted population in the NRM region, covering Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, eastern Oregon and Washington, and north-central Utah.
To support this initiative, FWS established a rule designating the Colorado wolves as an experimental population under Section 10(j) of the ESA. In December 2023, FWS and CPW signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) detailing compliance with this rule. A key condition is that any wolves introduced into Colorado must originate from within the NRM population.
CPW initially transplanted ten wolves from eastern Oregon in 2023 but faced challenges securing additional animals from other NRM states. Consequently, they introduced 15 wolves from British Columbia in early 2025 and plan to bring another 15 during winter 2025-26. This move violates the agreed-upon terms since British Columbia is not part of the designated NRM wolf population.
Michael Jean from Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation commented on the situation: "Colorado voters have put the state in tough spot... The final Section 10(j) rule contemplates that the wolves will come from the NRM population." He noted that reluctance from NRM states to provide more wolves stems from concerns over declining numbers being used by animal-rights groups to push for relisting.
The next steps for CPW and FWS remain uncertain. However, Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation has expressed readiness to engage legally to uphold Colorado's legal requirements under Section 10(j). They are already involved in litigation concerning gray wolf ESA status in both NRM and Western Great Lakes regions.
U.S Sportsmen's Alliance remains committed to defending hunting, fishing, and trapping rights for American sportsmen against perceived threats.
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