U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik said to Colorado wildlife officials that wolves transferred to Colorado must come from the Northern Rocky Mountain states, not Canada. In a letter sent to Colorado Parks and Wildlife Director Jeff Davis, Nesvik said that all plans to bring wolves from outside the U.S. must “cease and desist.”
In the letter, dated Oct. 10, Nesvik said that bringing wolves from outside the Northern Rockies is a violation of the 10(j) rule outlined in the official reintroduction framework. His letter says that the 10(j) rule states that the Fish and Wildlife Service authorized Colorado to transfer wolves from delisted population areas in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, the eastern third or Oregon, the eastern third of Washington, and north-central Utah.
The first set of wolves reintroduced to Colorado came from Oregon, while the last 15 wolves released came from British Columbia. The current population of gray wolves is somewhere around 30. This does not include pups born from four newly established packs. CPW said it will release an official count of wolves in their annual biological report.
In his letter, Nesvik said that the Fish and Wildlife Service has “reason to believe” that CPW is seeking to translocate wolves from outside the specified areas. “To the extent that these reports are true, such actions are violative of the 10(j) rule.”
Nesvik goes on to write that if CPW is currently engaged in “such activities,” CPW must “immediately cease and desist any and all efforts related to the capture, transfer and/or release of gray wolves” from outside the Northern Rocky Mountain areas.
This ruling from the Fish and Wildlife Service could hinder Colorado’s next round of wolf reintroduction which is set to begin this winter and conclude by the first of the new year.
The law to reintroduce gray wolves into Colorado was narrowly voted into law by a voter-backed initiative in 2023. Since the reintroduction, popularity has not been high as cattle ranchers and livestock producers adjust. Colorado’s new wolves have proven troublesome in some Western Slope areas as they prey on livestock.
The letter from Nosvik also comes after a large group of livestock and cattlemen’s associations argued that bringing wolves from outside the U.S. violates the Endangered Species Act.
CPW, in response to the livestock associations, said that gray wolves are not listed as endangered species in the Northern Rocky Mountains or listed as at-risk or endangered in Canada.
“With respect to sourcing gray wolves from western Canada, it’s important to remember that, 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,” CPW Statewide Public Information Officer Luke Perkins told Summit Daily News last week. “The provisions of the U.S. Endangered Species Act do not apply to these unlisted populations.”
Documents obtained by 9News show that CPW agreed to pay British Columbia up to $400,000 for the capture of up to 15 wolves. Other documents show that in July, Davis signed a memorandum of understanding with Canada to outline future plans of wolf captures.
Gov. Jared Polis’ office told the Colorado Sun that his office and CPW are in touch with the Interior Department about the Nesvik letter and are evaluating “all options” to allow wolf releases this year.
A 2023 federal notice referred to the Northern Rockies as the preferred source area of wolf capture, but not the required source.
Alamosa Citizen attempted to reach Fish and Wildlife acting chief of public affairs Garrett Petterson for comment, but his voicemail stated he was not cleared to work during the government shutdown.