Over the weekend, the state of Washington denied Colorado’s request for up to 15 gray wolves to continue its wolf reintroduction program.
Kelly Susewind, director of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, said the request was biologically possible, but the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission rejected it, citing a lack of public support and wolves’ endangered status in the state.
Colorado turned to Washington after the newly appointed U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik told Colorado Parks and Wildlife that Colorado could no longer source wolves from British Columbia. Parks and Wildlife received 15 wolves from the province in January and had signed an agreement to receive another 15 this winter.
According to Nesvik, per Colorado’s 10(j) agreement with the federal agency, the state can only source wolves from northern Rockies states where gray wolves are not listed federally as endangered. This includes Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and portions of Oregon, Washington, and Utah. While Parks and Wildlife has reported that it has a different interpretation of the agreement, it is working to comply with Nesvik’s direction and source wolves from this region. Read the full story at our partner, Summit Daily.
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