Colorado now counts 45 wolves, but no new releases are coming this winter. Where the reintroduction stands

Colorado has more gray wolves than at any point since the animals were wiped out of the state in the last century. Colorado Parks and Wildlife counted 45 wolves as of September 24, 2026, a figure that includes 20 pups born this year, according to the agency’s update reported by the Denver Gazette and The Colorado Sun.

That number does not tell the whole story. The reintroduction voters approved in 2020 has reached a difficult stage: no new wolves are coming this winter, adult wolves are dying at a higher rate than biologists consider normal, and the agency has just paused the rules it uses to remove wolves that repeatedly kill livestock. Here is where the program stands, and what the next year is likely to bring.

How Colorado got its wolves

Colorado voters narrowly approved Proposition 114 in November 2020, directing the state to restore gray wolves west of the Continental Divide. Colorado Parks and Wildlife released the first animals in December 2023, using wolves captured in Oregon, and followed with a second round of releases using wolves from British Columbia.

In all, 25 wolves were translocated to Colorado from the start of the program through the second round of releases. By mid-March 2026, 14 of those 25 had died, according to figures reported by GearJunkie. Reported causes over the life of the program have included vehicle strikes, illegal killings and removals by the agency after livestock losses.

The animals that survived have done what wolves do: formed packs and raised pups. CPW’s annual report for the year ending March 31, 2026, put the minimum count at 32 wolves, with four established packs that had all produced pups, according to Denver7’s summary of the report. The September count of 45 reflects another breeding season.

Why there are no releases this winter

On January 21, 2026, CPW announced it would not release wolves in the coming winter, according to Colorado Public Radio and Colorado Politics. The reason was supply. With wolves from Canada no longer an option, the agency looked for a state or tribal nation willing to provide animals and did not find one. Washington’s wildlife commission rejected a request, citing struggles within its own wolf population, and the Colville Confederated Tribes also opted out.

The decision came amid federal pressure. On December 18, 2025, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service demanded that Colorado provide a complete report on its gray wolf conservation and management activities since the program began. Gray wolves in Colorado are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act, and the state operates under a federal rule that allows certain management actions.

CPW has said it will keep looking for options. For now, Colorado’s wolf population will grow, or shrink, based on the animals already here.

What the survival numbers show

The September update included two survival figures that pull in opposite directions. Pup survival was strong: 82% of detected pups survived their first year. Adult survival was weaker, at about 61%, compared with roughly 75% typical of wolf populations that are not hunted, according to the agency’s figures as reported by the Denver Gazette.

Adult survival matters more for a small population, because adults hold territories and produce the next generation. CPW’s wolf program manager has warned that if mortality stays as high as it was in 2025, the risk of failing to achieve a self-sustaining population increases. The Colorado Sun reported that officials also raised concerns about parasites and lower pup counts in some packs, and the agency’s midyear review cited possible health concerns in two packs.

Some wolves are not currently in packs. They could pair up this winter, which would add new breeding groups. That is the hopeful case for 2027.

Livestock losses and a paused directive

Most wolf activity has stayed on the Western Slope, where ranchers have reported continuing livestock losses, the Denver Gazette reported in late September. State law requires Colorado to compensate ranchers for confirmed losses, and the state also supports nonlethal deterrents, but repeated attacks have tested that approach.

In early September, CPW staff killed wolves linked to repeated livestock deaths. The Colorado Sun reported that two yearling wolves were killed in a single day, and Colorado Politics reported that a third wolf was killed within three days. The removals were carried out under the agency’s chronic-depredation directive, the policy that sets out when lethal action is allowed.

Weeks later, the agency changed course. CPW said it would temporarily suspend that directive effective October 1 and instead review cases individually, “using a very conservative approach,” according to KRDO. The directive is slated for revision by April 1, 2027. The Colorado Sun reported that the decision reflected worries about the population’s trajectory, including survival rates.

What it means for people outdoors

For most hikers, hunters and anglers in Colorado, wolves remain rarely seen. A few practical points apply in wolf country on the Western Slope:

• Keep dogs close. Wolves can see dogs as competitors, particularly near dens or kills.
• Report sightings and tracks to CPW, which uses public reports alongside collar data to track packs.
• Do not approach or feed wildlife. Habituated animals are more likely to come into conflict with people and livestock.
• Know the law. Wolves are protected. Killing one is illegal except in narrowly defined circumstances.

For ranchers and outfitters, the next six months matter more. The revision of the depredation directive will set the terms for how the state balances livestock protection against a population it is legally required to restore.

What to watch

Three questions will shape the program in 2027. Whether CPW finds a new source of wolves for releases next winter. Whether adult survival improves enough to put the population on a self-sustaining path. And what the revised depredation rules look like when they arrive in the spring. CPW publishes population updates and its annual report, and those, rather than individual incidents, are the best measure of whether the reintroduction is working.