Colorado gray wolves continue to move throughout the state, showing activity in watersheds near population centers. Colorado Parks and Wildlife clarified how watersheds are highlighted as wolves move in and out of them.
In November, CPW’s Gray Wolf Activity Map showed much of the San Luis Valley’s watershed lit up with wolf activity. The map seemingly showed movement from Rio Grande County, through Alamosa County and into Costilla County.
“A lone individual briefly stepped foot in the western-most portion of Rio Grande County in what is named the City of Alamosa-Rio Grande watershed on a [Hydrology Unit Code] 10 map,” CPW said in a FaceBook post earlier in November.
While the lone gray wolf was present in the western most portion of this watershed in Rio Grande County, even just briefly, “there has been no collared wolf activity in the other counties.”
Additionally, CPW noted, there has been no collared wolf activity in any part of the San Luis Valley since Oct. 23.
If a radio GPS collar from a wolf uploads a location within a watershed one time during that month, CPW said, “the entire watershed is lit up on the map regardless of where in the watershed that datapoint was gathered.”
A watershed, which can vary in size from small drainages to lakes and oceans, is an area of land where all the water, whether from rain, snowmelt or springs, drains into a common water body.
Given that variability, CPW said, some watersheds may be small and localized, while others span multiple counties. “This is commonly true in the San Luis Valley where the unique geography makes for large watersheds with boundaries that often cover multiple counties when viewed at the HUC 10 level.”
As state wildlife officials prepare for the third round of wolf reintroductions, the sourcing location for these wolves is still up in the air.
Colorado’s latest attempt to source wolves from Washington was shot down when the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission voted 8-1 to deny giving wolves to Colorado. They cited the 10 deaths of wolves in Colorado since the 2023 reintroduction. Six wolves have died this year. The most recent death happened in southwest Colorado when female wolf 2506 was found dead.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will conduct the investigation and necropsy of the wolf and release the cause of death at a later date.
With Washington out of the picture for now, Colorado must find another source.
The first group of wolves brought to Colorado was from Oregon, while the second round was sourced from British Columbia.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Director Brian Nesvik balked at allowing Colorado to source wolves from Canada, alleging that it violates the Endangered Species Act. In a letter sent to then-CPW Director Jeff Davis, Nesvik said that wolves must be sourced from Northern Rocky Mountain states and not Canada as the transport of wolves over international boundaries is illegal. CPW said that because gray wolves are not endangered in Canada, there is no violation. However, Colorado officials are complying with the Trump Administration’s attempt to control further wolf reintroductions.
Since this letter was received, Davis has stepped down as director of CPW and will move to the Colorado Department of Natural Resources executive director’s office as a senior policy advisor for strategic priorities. Retired Maj. Gen. Laura Clellan will act as interim director until a replacement is found.
Within the wolf reintroduction laws, specifically the federal 10(j) rule, there is language that may allow Colorado to source wolves from Wisconsin, Michigan or Minnesota if other source populations are unavailable. The next wolf reintroduction is set to happen this winter.
