Plan to reintroduce Oregon wolves to Colorado on hold until judge’s ruling

DENVER, CO – Oregon’s plan to relocate wolves to Colorado, may be on hold.

A federal judge in Colorado is scheduled to issue a ruling Friday deciding whether to delay the reintroduction of wolves in the Centennial State based on a legal challenge filed this week by ranchers.

Unless a court order puts the reintroduction on hold, state officials said during a hearing Thursday that they could be just days away from capturing wolves to bring to Colorado.

The Colorado Cattlemen’s Association and the Gunnison County Stockgrowers’ Association on Monday filed a federal lawsuit against Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The lawsuit alleges that the government agencies violated the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to produce an environmental impact statement while renewing a cooperation agreement between the two agencies about conserving endangered species.

The lawsuit and subsequent filings by the livestock groups asked U.S. District Court Judge Regina Rodriguez to halt Colorado’s reintroduction efforts while the litigation proceeds.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials are in Oregon this week, waiting for the court ruling to capture wolves and intend to release wolves in the state by Dec. 31, as mandated by Colorado voters through a 2020 ballot measure.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife says they have only given guidance to its Colorado counterpart on where to locate and retrieve the wolves. Colorado Parks and Wildlife say they’re looking at Northeast Oregon but would not give Elkhorn Media Group any information on what packs it’s targeting for relocation.

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Elkhorn Media Group