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In the NoCo

Colorado’s wolf reintroduction plans face serious setbacks. Can wildlife officials get back on track?

Remote camera image of a wolf pup taken during the summer of 2025
Courtesy of Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Remote camera image of a wolf pup taken during the summer of 2025

Colorado’s program to restore grey wolves hit some surprising roadblocks recently.

You might recall that the state’s voters in 2020 passed a measure to reintroduce wolves, which forced wildlife officials to create a plan for bringing them back. That plan has encountered some challenges. So far, 10 of the reintroduced wolves have died.

And now, wildlife officials are wrestling with where the next set of wolves to be released will come from. Several states – including Idaho, Wyoming, and Washington – have said ‘no’ to sending wolves from their states to Colorado. And federal officials recently put the brakes on a plan to bring in wolves from Canada.

All of this raises questions about the viability of Colorado’s wolf reintroduction plan – and what might get it back on track. Scott Franz of KUNC News has been following the issue, and joined Erin O’Toole to unpack some of these questions.

Read Scott’s recent story about how Washington state officials declined to send wolves to Colorado.

KUNC's In The NoCo is a daily slice of stories, news, people and issues. It's a window to the communities along the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The show brings context and insight to the stories of the day, often elevating unheard voices in the process. And because life in Northern Colorado is a balance of work and play, we celebrate the lighter side of things here, too.
Scott Franz is an Investigative Reporter with KUNC.
Brad Turner is an executive producer in KUNC's newsroom. He manages the podcast team that makes In The NoCo, which also airs weekdays in Morning Edition and All Things Considered. His work as a podcaster and journalist has appeared on NPR's Weekend Edition, NPR Music, the PBS Newshour, Colorado Public Radio, MTV Online, the Denver Post, Boulder's Daily Camera, and the Longmont Times-Call.
As the host of KUNC’s news program and podcast In The NoCo, I work closely with our producers and reporters to bring context and diverse perspectives to the important issues of the day. Northern Colorado is such a diverse and growing region, brimming with history, culture, music, education, civic engagement, and amazing outdoor recreation. I love finding the stories and voices that reflect what makes NoCo such an extraordinary place to live.