Colorado Parks and Wildlife has officially released their monthly map depicting recent wolf activity, and there are several big takeaways. This month’s map accounts for wolf activity between October 22 and November 26, created by using periodic pings from tracking collars to show which watersheds around the state have had wolves present during the aforementioned period.

The first, and perhaps most notable, takeaway is that at least one wolf has successfully traveled across I-70 for the first time since the reintroduction effort started in December of 2023. The species made this crossing in a watershed area that includes Vail, moving down into a watershed that includes Lake County and Leadville.

A second big takeaway is that the species was detected in a watershed area near Glenwood Springs. Based on mapping that dates back to December 18, 2023, wolves have yet to be detected in the watershed that butts up against this Garfield County town.

A few notable mountain towns that are located in or near watershed areas where wolves have roamed as of the latest mapping include Vail, Leadville, Steamboat Springs, Kremmling, Glenwood Springs, Rifle, Meeker, and Eagle. It is, however, important to note that just because a wolf was detected in a given watershed, that doesn’t mean that the species is present in the entire watershed or in urbanized areas of these regions.

Also in wolf news, Colorado Parks and Wildlife reports that counties currently being considered for the 2024-2025 capture and release season include Garfield, Eagle, and Pitkin counties. Rio Blanco county was initially on this list of locations, but has been removed due to a limited number of state-owned sites that meet the criteria for release, as well as how close these sites are to livestock operations. Additionally, elk and deer herds in this area continue to recover from an exceptionally severe 2022 to 2023 winter season.

Find more updates on wolves and explore prior maps here.