GRAND COUNTY, Colo. — Grand County Commissioners are accusing the Colorado Department of Parks and Wildlife (CPW) of violating the Wolf Restoration and Management Plan after officials returned a gray wolf to the area.
The wolf is from the controversial Copper Creek pack that wondered into New Mexico but was then captured and re-released into Grand County earlier this month.
Commissioner Merrit Linke said the re-release of the wolves into Grand County is a direct violation of an agreed upon plan that says the translocation of depredating wolves to a different part of the state won't be considered.
"It was just really kind of strike four that they re-released them in Grand County, which again, is a violation in terms of the language of the plan. You're not supposed to re-release problem wolves," Linke said. "And wolves are smart. They don't forget where's a good source for a meal."
Commissioners wrote a letter to Governor Polis and sent Denver7 CPW's response which says the wolves had to be returned and they chose Grand County because of its distance from livestock, the presence of natural prey and its proximity to unpaired female gray wolf.
“We are grateful to our partners at the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish for their efforts to capture and return a member of Colorado’s gray wolf population,” acting CPW Director Laura Clellan said in a news release. “Gray wolf 2403 has been returned to Colorado and released in a location where it can best contribute to CPW’s efforts to establish a self-sustaining wolf population while concurrently attempting to minimize potential wolf-related livestock conflicts.”
CPW has a memorandum with neighboring states, including New Mexico, that requires any wolf that crosses into those states to be returned.
Linke said they got a courtesy phone call right before it happened telling them the wolf was coming back, not asking if it was okay.
"I was just a little bit dumbfounded, a little shocked. I didn't quite know what to say," Linke said.
Linke is a fourth generation rancher, so he knows the threat these wolves pose to livestock.
The Copper Creek pack’s existence was confirmed in June of 2024 in Grand County. Months later, all but one wolf from the pack was captured and relocated after a series of livestock attacks.
Environment
Colorado wolf that wandered into New Mexico re-released in Grand County
In May, CPW officials shot and killed one of the wolves it said was responsible for four livestock depredations in an eight-day span.
The uncaptured wolf is believed to be behind a string of sheep attacks in Rio Blanco County over the summer.
- Denver7 has been following Colorado's wolf reintroduction program since the very beginning, and you can explore all of that reporting in the timeline below. The timeline starts with our most recent story.
Denver7 in-depth wolf coverage
The below list outlines an overview of the known wolf population in Colorado:
- Six wolves surviving from the original 10 that were released in December 2023 (one died of a likely mountain lion attack, a second died from injuries sustained prior to his capture as part of the Copper Creek Pack relocation effort, a third wolf became sickly and died, and a fourth died in Wyoming)
- Three wolves surviving of the five wolf pups born in the spring of 2024 (one male was killed by CPW after multiple depredations in Pitkin County and a second male was shot for the same reasons in September)
- Nine wolves surviving from the 15 that were released in January 2025 (one was shot and killed by Wildlife Services in Wyoming, a second died of unknown causes in Wyoming, a third died in Rocky Mountain National Park, a fourth died in northwest Colorado and the fifth died in northwest Colorado after it was likely hit by a car, and a sixth died in southwestern Colorado)
- Unknown number of pups born in four packs in 2025
- Two uncollared wolves that moved south from Wyoming several years ago and have been in and out of the area. It is not clear if they are alive or still in the state.
- One uncollared wolf that was last known to be in northwest Moffat County in mid-February 2025. It is not clear if it is alive or still in the state.
- Possible, but unconfirmed, wolf in the Browns Park area as of February 2025. It is not clear if it is alive or still in the state.
