Defenders and Allies Voice Support for British Columbia-Colorado Wolf Translocation Agreement

Defenders of Wildlife, Rocky Mountain Wolf Project and a coalition of partner organizations representing millions of American and Canadian residents, announced the delivery of a letter to Honourable Randene Neill, Minister, and the Honourable Lori Halls, Deputy Minister, Deputy Minister, of British Columbia. The letter expresses gratitude for their 2024–2025 partnership with Colorado Parks and Wildlife to translocate gray wolves from British Columbia to Colorado. It also calls on the ministry to stand firm against pressures to disrupt this groundbreaking agreement.

“CPW’s agreement with British Columbia to secure wolves as part of Colorado’s historic gray wolf reintroduction program showcases an international commitment to conservation successes.” said Kaitie Schneider, Defenders of Wildlife’s Colorado wolf representative. “Colorado is prepared to collaboratively employ all tactics and strategies available to prevent livestock conflict, and Defenders stands ready to help.”

“This partnership is an inspiring example of international collaboration to restore an iconic species to its rightful place in the American West,” said Rob Edward, President of the Rocky Mountain Wolf Project. “British Columbia’s partnership with Colorado shines a light on their commitment to biodiversity and ecological stewardship, and we deeply value their leadership.”

Colorado’s voters mandated the wolf reintroduction program through a 2020 ballot measure. However, livestock industry pressure has driven multiple states and tribes to refuse participation in sourcing wolves, leaving British Columbia as one of the few remaining viable partners.

“Efforts to undermine this agreement are nothing short of an attempt to sabotage Colorado’s democratically mandated reintroduction program,” added Edward. “British Columbia’s wolves are uniquely suited to help establish a thriving population in Colorado, as they once did in Yellowstone National Park and Idaho. We must not allow special interests to derail this shared conservation success story.”

The letter also highlights the proactive steps taken in Colorado to address challenges, including habitat suitability analyses, nonlethal conflict mitigation tools and range rider programs to minimize livestock depredation.

Ecologist Delia Malone, President of ColoradoWild, emphasized the core principles of Colorado’s wolf restoration program. “Why does Colorado need wolves? Gray wolves are a native keystone species who, when present in ecologically effective numbers, and families are unharmed, would be instrumental in restoring Colorado’s biodiversity and ecosystem health.”

“The same interests lobbying Canada have also retained high-powered law firms and spent significant money on advertising – all to obstruct the implementation of Colorado law,” said Lindsay Larris, conservation director for WildEarth Guardians. “If even a bit of those resources and that energy were put towards helping livestock owners coexist with wolves, we’d probably all be in a much better place.”

“Colorado’s partnership with British Columbia to restore the state’s wolf population proves that regions working together can achieve extraordinary outcomes for wildlife and ecosystems,” said Alli Henderson, southern Rockies director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Colorado voters took an important step in 2020 to right a century-old wrong of killing native wildlife, often at the behest of the livestock industry. Amid continued efforts to thwart this native wildlife restoration effort, it’s crucial that Colorado and British Columbia stand with the voters and dismiss these obstructionist efforts.”

Defenders of Wildlife, Rocky Mountain Wolf Project and our conservation partners call on citizens in both the United States and British Columbia to voice their support for this critical translocation effort.

A copy of the letter is available to download here: NGO-Support-for-Wolf-Translocation-to-Colorado_0.pdf

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