Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) released its third annual Gray Wolf Report for 2026, offering a detailed look at how the state’s restoration program is progressing. The report covers the biological year from April 1st, 2025 to March 31st, 2026 and tracks everything from population counts and pack territories to livestock conflict and ongoing research.
CPW biologists identified a minimum of 32 gray wolves living in Colorado. Of those, 24 belong to established packs made up of 10 adults and 14 pups, while the remaining eight are dispersing adults moving through the landscape on their own.
“Pup recruitment into the wolf population this year was very high, which is a sign of wolves’ ability to find one another, pair, reproduce, and make a go of it in Colorado. This is an encouraging sign of the biological success of our program and displays a positive trend in our wolf population size.” – – Wolf Conservation Program Manager Eric Odell.
The report documents 10 adult wolf mortalities during the reporting period, with three still under investigation by US Fish and Wildlife Service or CPW.
On the conflict minimization side, CPW’s Wildlife Damage Specialists conducted 78 additional site assessments, bringing the statewide total to over 280. Staff also deployed 61 scare devices, more than 13 miles of fladry across 15 locations, and supported 34 livestock producers in northwest Colorado through contracted range riders.
“Our conflict minimization program has grown significantly over the early stages of wolf restoration. Through the expertise of our staff, ongoing training, and expanding hard tool resources, CPW continues to provide timely investigations and strategic response to depredations and wolf localization near working lands.” – Ray Aberle, deputy assistant director of CPW’s Lands Unit.
CPW also continued research partnerships with Colorado State University, USGS, and USDA, covering topics like ungulate responses to wolf recovery and wolf-livestock interactions. The full report is available through CPW’s website.
