The wolf recovery program in Colorado has drawn a formal review by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, which is seeking public comment on how the state is implementing its 10(j) recovery rule and handling wolf livestock conflicts, the agency said in a news release.
Federal officials noted that confirmed wolf depredations and rancher claims have outpaced the state's budgeted compensation, with awarded claims in 2025 exceeding $700,000 and projected to top $1 million, as first reported by the Coloradoan and confirmed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Awarded claims in 2024 totaled more than $600,000, while the state budgets $350,000 annually and has been covering shortfalls through other revenue streams, the report said.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service signed a memorandum of agreement with Colorado Parks and Wildlife in December 2023 naming the state agency as the agent to implement wolf recovery in cooperation with the federal agency, the news release stated. A December 18, 2025 letter obtained by the Coloradoan showed the federal agency warned it could remove the state from management unless compliance issues were addressed, and requested reports on gray wolf conservation and management activities from December 12, 2023 through the date of the letter within 30 days, which Colorado Parks and Wildlife supplied.
The federal notice lists specific areas for public comment, including Colorado Parks and Wildlife's tracking of wolf conflict risk, implementation of nonlethal and lethal controls for wolves having unacceptable impacts, conflict prevention and response, operation of the livestock loss compensation program, and stakeholder engagement. The US Fish and Wildlife Service also asked for input on any impact the wolf population may be having on elk, deer and moose herds, including on Tribal lands.
Regulatory Steps And Local Fallout
USFWS set a public comment deadline of June 5, 2026, and directed submissions to docket FWS-R6-ES-2026-0958 through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at regulations.gov or by mail to its Public Comments Processing address in Falls Church, Virginia, the news release said. All submitted comments will be posted on regulations.gov.
The contentious reintroduction process has coincided with personnel changes at the state agency, and reporting has linked the issue to the forced resignation of former Colorado Parks and Wildlife Director Jeff Davis in November and to the announced retirement of Eric Odell, the agency's wolf conservation manager, in June, the report said.
Separate incidents and broader context underscore the range of wolf issues nationwide. A daycare-age child at a Pennsylvania park zoo entered a restricted area near a wolf exhibit, placed a hand through the enclosure and sustained minor injuries after a wolf grabbed the hand, Derry Township Police said. ZooAmerica said the contact was investigatory mouthing and that the animal is current on vaccinations. Dauphin County prosecutors charged the child's parents with endangering the welfare of children, prosecutors told reporters.
Population and natural history details cited in public information documents provide further context. Wikipedia's wolf entry gives a global wild grey wolf population estimate of between 200,000 and 250,000 as of 2026 and outlines wolves' social pack structure, hunting of large ungulates, and wide habitat range. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game noted that Alaska is home to an estimated 7,000 to 11,000 wolves, that adult males in Interior Alaska typically weigh 85 to 115 pounds, and that wolves there rely mainly on moose and caribou where available. The Alaska agency also reported that wolves have never been threatened or endangered in that state and occupy roughly 85 percent of Alaska's land area.
