UPDATE | Jan. 7, 2026 — According to a letter from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department that Denver7 has obtained, Jeff Davis accepted a position as deputy director with the department and will start on Feb. 2. The letter is dated Dec. 19, 2025.
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DENVER — The federal government has sent a letter to Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), saying U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS) will make moves to take over the gray wolf reintroduction program in the state unless it addresses compliance issues.
The director of USFWS sent the letter to CPW on Dec. 18, 2025. Denver7 obtained the letter on Monday.
In the letter, USFWS Director Brian Nesvik noted two instances of noncompliance: First, it said that the Biden Administration completed a 10(j) rule allowing Colorado to translocate wolves only from Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington and north-central Utah, but not Alaska or Canada. In January 2025, CPW released 15 wolves from British Columbia.
Second, it reads that a Colorado wolf that traveled into New Mexico was brought back to Colorado and re-released in Grand County. That animal was part of the Copper Creek Pack, a group with a confirmed history of depredations. Grand County commissioners have accused CPW of violating the Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan with that wolf's release.
Read the full letter below.
Because these two actions were "contrary to the terms of the rule" — meaning the 10(j) — Nesvik requested a timeline of events within the wolf reintroduction program between Dec. 12, 2023 to present day, as well as a summary of the January 2025 wolf release and the release of a wolf in Grand County.
As well as a summary of the program's actions, the USFWS requested a summary and documents about the January 2025 release, in addition to a recent release of wolf that had traveled into New Mexico and was returned to Colorado.
Denver7 has been following Colorado's wolf reintroduction program since the very beginning, and you can explore all of that reporting in the timeline, which starts with our most recent story.
The USFWS gave CPW 30 days to comply with this information request, which CPW said it intends to do. The federal agency said it would otherwise terminate the state's memorandum of understanding that designates CPW as the group in charge of wolf management in Colorado.
CPW said if it is removed from that, it would revoke its authority to manage the wolves as outlined in the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the USFWS and CPW. The lead management authority would then be the USFWS. Because the management would move from state to federal responsibility, CPW would not be allowed to administer any management actions, which non-lethal hazing permits and lethal removal, the agency said.
- Read the full Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan
Denver7 reached out to CPW about an interview on this topic on Tuesday but were told they were unable to facilitate one.
Throughout the reintroduction program, CPW has coordinated with USFWS and complied with its guidance, CPW said, adding that it will do the same for this recent request for information.
"CPW values the partnership with USFWS in the wolf management context as well as in many other collaborative situations in which those joint efforts benefit Colorado’s citizens and their interests in our state’s wildlife and natural resources," the agency said in a statement obtained by Denver7. "CPW believes that it is advantageous for CPW to continue as the lead management agency for Colorado’s gray wolves. In accordance with the MOA, our leadership and staff will continue to closely coordinate on wolf management decisions with USFWS staff."
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.
