Colorado’s wolf reintroduction plans face serious setbacks. Can wildlife officials get back on track?

Colorado’s program to restore grey wolves hit some surprising roadblocks recently.  

You might recall that the state’s voters in 2020 passed a measure to reintroduce wolves, which forced wildlife officials to create a plan for bringing them back. That plan has encountered some challenges. So far, 10 of the reintroduced wolves have died.   

And now, wildlife officials are wrestling with where the next set of wolves to be released will come from. Several states – including Idaho, Wyoming, and Washington – have said ‘no’ to sending wolves from their states to Colorado. And federal officials recently put the brakes on a plan to bring in wolves from Canada.   

All of this raises questions about the viability of Colorado’s wolf reintroduction plan – and what might get it back on track.  Scott Franz of KUNC News has been following the issue, and joined Erin O’Toole to unpack some of these questions.  

Read Scott’s recent story about how Washington state officials declined to send wolves to Colorado. 

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Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Executive Producer: Brad Turner
 
Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.