Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) began capture operations of gray wolves in British Columbia on Friday.

According to a press release from CPW, the capture operation will last up to two weeks and is part of the 2025 capture season in support of the Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan. CPW’s agreement with the B.C. Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship allows up to 15 wolves to be translocated and released in Colorado in 2025.

“We remain committed to working with all parties as we continue to implement the law as passed by the voters,” said CPW Director Jeff Davis in the press release. “We have been working all year in preparation to have more wolves on the landscape with an improved Conflict Minimization Program, the addition of new staff to work alongside producers, strengthened partnerships, and guidelines for producers as it relates to chronic depredation and lethal management considerations.”

CPW will work with biologists from the B.C. Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship to capture wolves. The wolves will be examined and provided treatment for possible diseases and infections at the source sites. They will be transported in crates to Colorado via aircraft, and released at select sites as soon as possible once they arrive. CPW also says that the gray wolves they plan to capture from British Columbia don’t come from areas with livestock, so there isn’t a concern with introducing wolves from packs involved in repeated livestock depredations.

The press release states that introducing wolves from British Columbia to Colorado’s existing population will increase the likelihood of pairing, breeding, and pack formation (which will improve CPW’s ability to monitor patterns within a territory and work with producers on active behavior and coexistence strategies to protect livestock).

“We are excited to be working with B.C. to bring together our combined experience and expertise while ensuring the safety of animals and staff,” said CPW Wolf Conservation Program Manager Eric Odell. “This new source population of gray wolves will provide additional genetic diversity to Colorado’s wolf population.”

CPW also said that the start of capture operations comes after work to adopt wolf-livestock conflict minimization measures, including a range rider program, a definition of chronic depredation, the development of a depredation response operations team, effective non-lethal tools, a site assessment program, a carcass removal program, and a communications plan.

Find more information on wolves in Colorado and movement activity maps here or sign up to receive monthly Gray Wolf Reintroduction eNews here.

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