Washington tribe pulls out of agreement to provide wolves to Colorado

The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington said it is rescinding an earlier agreement to send 15 wolves to Colorado Parks and Wildlife later this year and in early 2025.

Cody Desautel, executive director of the tribe, on July 30 told the Coloradoan it sent a letter to Colorado Parks and Wildlife informing the agency of its decision. That letter, sent to Colorado Parks and Wildlife Director Jeff Davis, was dated June 6.

"After hearing from Colorado tribes concerned about the (wolf) reintroduction, we halted the project out of respect for the sovereignty, culture, and impacts to membership of the Indian Tribes in Colorado," Desautel told the Coloradoan.

Desautel said the Colville Tribe received a letter from the Southern Ute Indian Tribe in Colorado asking it not to provide wolves to Colorado. Colorado's Southern Ute Indian Tribe land is located in southwestern Colorado along the New Mexico border.

The Southern Ute Indian Tribe has publicly expressed concerns with the state's wolf reintroduction plan for the same reasons ranchers and hunters have: wolves killing the tribe's livestock and deer and elk. The tribe also requested Colorado Parks and Wildlife to limit wolf releases to the northern zone, along the Interstate 70 corridor, of its two preferred release areas.

The Southern Ute Indian Tribe could not immediately be reached for comment.

Colorado's wolf recovery plan includes a 60-mile buffer for wolf releases from tribal land.

Colorado captured 10 wolves in Oregon and released them north of I-70 in Grand and Summit counties in December of 2023, roughly 200 miles from tribal land.

Wolves have not yet crossed into tribal land in Colorado .

Davis acknowledged the decision by the Colville Tribe in an email response to the Coloradoan on July 30.

"Naturally, the decision made by the Colville Business Council and the Tribal Government and Natural Resources Committees is disappointing, but we have a strong relationship with the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and hope to continue these conversations in the future,'' Davis wrote in the email. "We will continue working with other potential sources for wolves to further our efforts to restore wolves to Colorado. We are not contemplating halting our implementation of the plan and will continue in our efforts to restore a sustainable population of wolves to the state while avoiding and minimizing impacts to our critically important agricultural industries and rural communities."

Where Colorado wolves have been coming from

The state was to release five more wolves captured in Oregon in early 2024 but halted the capture and release after heavy criticism after five of the 10 released wolves were identified as being members of packs involved in recent livestock depredations in Oregon.

The Colville Tribe originally agreed to send 15 additional wolves to Colorado in a letter dated Oct. 5, 2023. Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced the agreement Jan. 19, 2024.

Colorado's wolf recovery plan prioritized Wyoming, Montana and Idaho as wolf source states for its reintroduction. However, those states all rebuffed Colorado's ask.

Running out of source options, Oregon stepped up to provide 10 wolves.

The state of Washington considered providing wolves to Colorado but ultimately decided it could not meet Colorado's 2023 timetable. They could come back into play for Colorado's next reintroduction this year or early next. Davis formerly worked with the Washington Fish and Game Department.

The Colville Tribe, as with other tribes, is a sovereign nation, granting it certain legal rights, including the option of sending wolves to Colorado outside of the state's decision.

Where might Colorado turn for wolves for its reintroduction program?

The Nez Perce Tribe in Idaho now looks like Colorado's best, and possibly only, option.

In early October of 2023, the Nez Perce Tribe told the Coloradoan that Colorado Gov. Jared Polis had discussions with Shannon Wheeler, chairman of the tribe's executive committee, about serving as a source for wolves .

However, once Oregon stepped up to provide wolves, Aaron Miles, the tribe’s natural resource manager, told the Coloradoan those discussions ended.

Miles confirmed to the Coloradoan on July 30 that the tribe received the same letter from the Southern Ute Indian Tribe in Colorado as the Colville Tribe, requesting it not to provide wolves to Colorado.

Despite the request, he said the Nez Perce Tribe wishes to see wolf populations expand, especially in light of Idaho's "aggressive'' goal of reducing wolf numbers.

"I think we might be open to helping out Colorado,'' said Miles, who added Colorado officials have not reached out to the tribe regarding wolf sourcing for months. "We want wolves to thrive and be sustainable and for people to learn to live with them.''

Colorado's wolf plan calls for reintroducing 30 to 50 wolves over the next three to five years.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Washington tribe pulls out of agreement to provide wolves to Colorado