DENVER — Wildlife officials released information this week showing where Colorado's collared wolves have roamed since they were released last month.
Ten gray wolves were released in Grand and Summit counties in mid-December in accordance with a voter-approved reintroduction program that was embraced in the state's mostly Democratic urban corridor but staunchly opposed in conservative rural areas where ranchers worry about attacks on livestock.
Those were in addition to two wolves that dispersed into Jackson County on their own and produced six pups in 2021. Last February, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) officials placed collars on two of those wolves in North Park.
A new map released by CPW on Wednesday shows where the wolves have roamed over the past month, using GPS data collected from all 12 collared wolves, which are the only known wolves currently in the state.
The map shows wolf activity in watersheds in Grand and Summit counties, where the 10 wolves were released, and in Jackson County. Just because an area shows wolf activity doesn't mean that wolves are present through the entire watershed or are currently there, CPW said in a news release.
Between Dec. 18 and Monday, no wolves had roamed south of Interstate 70 or into counties on the Front Range, according to the map.
CPW said the collars record a position every four hours. After four locations are recorded, that data is transmitted via satellite to biologists. CPW staff can use the data to see where wolves have been but not where they are at any current point in time, the agency said.
The map will be updated on the fourth Wednesday of every month, CPW said.
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