Those following along with Colorado’s wolf reintroduction effort have likely been wondering if – and when and where – wolves would be released into the state’s landscape during the winter of 2025 to 2026. After all, wolves were translocated and released during the 2023-2024 winter and the 2024-2025 winter. With the end of January approaching, Colorado Parks and Wildlife has provided an update related to the effort.

According to the agency, there are currently no plans to release wolves in Colorado this winter, with Colorado Parks and Wildlife continuing to explore options related to a release for the winter of 2026-2027. As planned, the reintroduction program meant the transfer of 30 to 50 wolves into the state over a three to five year time frame.

In the meantime, officials will continue to meet with livestock producers and stakeholders, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to continue to explore how to maximize reintroduction efforts with the ultimate goal being to establish a self-sustaining wolf population in Colorado.

It’s also worth noting that while more wolves probably won’t be brought to the state this winter, that doesn’t mean the local adult and subadult population of the species won’t climb. According to wildlife officials, there were four instances of reproduction last year, with the typical litter size being between four and six pups – 16 to 24 pups total. The agency is currently working to determine how many of these pups have survived thus far and how many will be successfully recruited into the current population.

“When populations are small, the contributions of each individual is especially significant,” said CPW Wolf Program Manager Eric Odell. “It is not possible to predict the impact of foregoing a third year of translocations without knowing what may occur in the coming year. If mortality remains high, as observed in 2025, the risk of failing to achieve a self-sustaining wolf population in Colorado increases, potentially requiring additional resources to address.”

By OutThere Colorado’s count, seven of the 15 wolves brought into the state in 2025 have already died.

It’s important to note that conversation around the source of wolves being translocated into Colorado has been a hot topic of discussion in recent weeks and months, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service telling Colorado they could no longer bring wolves to the state from Canada or Alaska in October 2025 – the last round of wolves that was introduced to Colorado in 2025 came from British Columbia. The federal agency cited rule 10(j), stating this only allowed wolves to be introduced into Colorado if those wolves came from Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, the eastern-third of Oregon, the eastern-third of Washington, or north-central Utah. Meanwhile, the Colorado Sun reports that the federal government had previously OK’d Colorado’s plan to source wolves from Canada.

By all accounts, it looks like many questions remain about Colorado’s controversial wolf reintroduction program and its future. The effort of managing the population that’s already in the Centennial State will continue, but whether or not more out-of-state wolves will be arriving any time soon is a bit up in the area.

Find additional information about Colorado’s wolf reintroduction program here.

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