SALEM — Oregon wildlife officials are lending a hand to accelerate Colorado’s gray wolf recovery.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife has agreed to send 10 wolves from northeast Oregon to Colorado, where they will be released west of the Continental Divide.

Voters in Colorado narrowly passed a ballot measure in 2020 to bring back wolves after the species was hunted, trapped and poisoned into local extinction by the 1940s. The legislation set a deadline of Dec. 31, 2023, to start reintroduction.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife, or CPW, approved its Wolf Restoration and Management Plan in May. The department had reached out to several states, including Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana, asking for wolves to establish a new population.

CPW will begin capturing Oregon wolves in December to relocate to the Western Slope, a journey of about 1,000 miles.

Colorado governor ‘grateful’

“We are deeply grateful for Oregon’s partnership in this endeavor,” said Colorado Gov. Jared Polis. “We are now one step closer to fulfilling the will of the voters in time.”

ODFW Director Curt Melcher said Oregon has a long history of helping other states meet their conservation goals by providing animals for relocation.

“The wolves will come from northeast Oregon, where wolves are most abundant in the state and where removal of 10 wolves will not impact any conservation goals,” Melcher said.

According to the most recent population estimate, Oregon had at least 178 known wolves statewide by the end of 2022. That includes 24 packs, of which 17 are breeding pairs — defined as an adult male and adult female with at least two pups that survive through year’s end — along with 14 other groups of two or three wolves.

CPW will pay all costs for catching and relocating the wolves. Staff will work with helicopter crews and spotter planes to capture the animals, which will then be transported in sturdy aluminum crates to Colorado by truck or airplane.

Eric Odell, CPW wolf conservation program manager, said they anticipate most of the wolves will be 1-5 years old, which is the age when they would normally disperse from their packs. CPW will also aim to capture an equal number of males and females.

“The wolves will be released at select sites in Colorado as soon as possible once they arrive in the state to minimize stress on the animals,” Odell said.

Wolves with major injuries, such as broken limbs or missing eyes, or those with mange or lice infections will not be selected for reintroduction. The animals that are chosen will be fitted with collars, measured and treated for diseases on site where they are caught.

Michael Saul, Rockies and plains field director for the advocacy group Defenders of Wildlife, welcomed the partnership between CPW and ODFW, calling it “a prime example of cross-state cooperation that will directly increase resilience across the West for gray wolves.”

Ranchers prepare

Ranchers, on the other hand, have voiced their objections.

John Williams, wolf committee co-chairman for the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association, said he traveled to Gunnison, Colo., in July to speak with ranchers there about what they can expect with the reintroduction of wolves.

“I told them it wasn’t a pretty sight,” Williams said. “They’re going to have the same problems we have here.”

Wolves in Oregon were responsible for 79 attacks on livestock in 2022, killing or injuring four adult cows, 68 calves, 11 ewes, nine lambs, four goats and three livestock working dogs.

Colorado ranchers can expect much the same, Williams said. Given the region’s higher elevation and mountain snowpack, he predicted wolves will be forced down to the valley floor where they will come into conflict with livestock.

”There’s going to be depredations,” Williams said. “(Cattle) become a lot harder to manage. You have reduced weaning rates, (and) reduced cow weights. Your expenses will get significantly higher.”

Though CPW says it will try to avoid bringing back wolves that have a history of attacking livestock, Williams said he is skeptical.

He encouraged Colorado ranchers to work closely with policymakers to ensure they have the tools to properly manage wolves, as well as keeping up with basic steps like cleaning bone piles and carcasses to avoid unintentionally attracting wolves.

”Every ranch is different, which means every situation is different,” Williams said.

Got wolves? Colorado asks neighbors for some of theirs

Oregon’s wolf population increases slightly to at least 178