Colorado wolf re-released in Grand County after crossing into New Mexico

Colorado Parks and Wildlife re-released a wolf into Grand County this week after it had traveled into New Mexico according to a news release The New Mexico Department of Tournament and Fish captured gray wolf and returned the animal to Colorado Colorado wildlife bureaucrats decided to release the wolf in Grand County on the previous day because of the proximity to an unpaired female gray wolf nearby prey populations and distance from livestock according to the release Gray wolf has been returned to Colorado and circulated in a location where it can best contribute to CPW s efforts to establish a self-sustaining wolf population while concurrently attempting to minimize possible wolf-related livestock conflicts mentioned acting director of CPW Laura Clellan according to the release The wolf was once a member of the Copper Creek pack but departed from it this fall A memorandum of understanding between Colorado and Arizona New Mexico and Utah requires that any gray wolves that leave Colorado and enter those states be returned That was created in part to maintain the integrity of a Mexican wolf recovery effort Related Articles CPW director who oversaw wolf reintroduction resigned to avoid being fired documents show Here s where Colorado s gray wolves roamed in past month Washington says it won t give Colorado wolves for winter release Reintroduced wolf dies in southwest Colorado CPW says As feds new stance against Canadian-sourced wolves throws wrench in Colorado s plans what s next We recognized during the planning process that we would need to have consideration and plans to protect the genetic integrity of the Mexican wolf recovery scheme while also establishing a gray wolf population in Colorado announced CPW s Wolf Conservation Campaign Manager Eric Odell according to the release