The recommendation comes after more than 25 livestock and agricultural groups filed a petition in September to stop the program.
The Utah News Dispatch reports the petition asks wildlife commissioners to stop further releases “until Colorado’s wolf management program is equipped to handle the consequences of these introductions.”
The petition points to the deaths of nine cattle and 15 sheep in 2024 as cause to pause the program.
Colorado wildlife officials acknowledged the loss of the animals and will meet Jan. 8 to discuss how to respond to the requests and recommendations of those impacted by the wolf releases.
Despite a tense first year of reintroduction following the release of 10 wolves in Grand and Summit counties in December 2023, officials say the agency’s expanded efforts to prevent and manage conflicts with livestock provide a “solid foundation for the future” of the program.
The state’s wolf reintroduction program fulfills a voter-approved 2020 ballot initiative to reintroduce the animals in Colorado, an effort to restore ecological balance.
