The Washington tribes that agreed to provide wolves to Colorado’s reintroduction program have rescinded their offer, forcing state wildlife officials to seek a different source—a search that has proved difficult in the past.

The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation said they would no longer provide the wolves after speaking with the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, which has reservation land in Colorado. The Washington tribes—which had been expected to be a major source for the next round of the reintroduction effort—withdrew their agreement in a June 6 letter to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

“It has come to our attention that necessary and meaningful consultation was not completed with the potentially impacted tribes,” wrote Jarred-Michael Erickson, chairman of the Colville business council, in the letter. “Out of respect for the sovereignty, cultures and memberships of Indian Tribes in Colorado and neighboring states, who may be impacted by this project, the Colville Tribes cannot assist with this project at this time.”

Colorado voters in 2020 narrowly decided to reintroduce gray wolves and mandated that state wildlife officials do so by Dec. 31, 2023.

The plan detailing how CPW will execute the reintroduction effort states that the agency should release a total of 30 to 50 wolves within the next few years, a target it plans to reach by relocating 10 to 15 wolves every winter.

The controversial vote has caused deep frustration in Colorado’s ranching communities, where people say the wolves will negatively impact their businesses and ways of life. Support for the reintroduction primarily came from urban Front Range communities, while the rural areas where wolves would live opposed the measure.

Since the first December releases, wolves have killed or injured at least 14 cattle and nine sheep—including eight sheep killed or injured last weekend.

Documents from the Colville Tribes’ business council show that the council discussed the issue on June 6 after learning Colorado officials “failed to consult” with the Southern Ute Tribe about the wolves.

The Southern Ute Indian Tribe has concerns about the wolves’ potential impact on livestock, deer and elk herds and their use of the Brunot Area hunting rights reserved for tribal members, tribal leadership said Thursday in a statement.

Tribal leaders said they would continue to work with Colorado Parks and Wildlife “to establish a framework for working together that enables the state to implement its reintroduction program while simultaneously recognizing the sovereign authority of the Tribe on tribal lands and the interest shared by the Tribe and the State in the Brunot Area.”

So far, CPW’s monthly maps showing where the wolves have roamed have indicated activity in the central and northern mountains, far from the Southern Utes’ southwestern Colorado reservation. But plans call for the next round of releases to occur farther south.

Colorado wildlife officials struggled last year to find a state or tribe willing to provide wolves for reintroduction here. The three states identified as ideal for sourcing wolves—Idaho, Montana and Wyoming—all rejected Colorado’s request for wolves.

CPW spokesman Joey Livingston declined to discuss source negotiations and said the agency would issue a statement when it finds a source.

“We continue speaking with other potential sources of wolves,” he wrote in an email, “and will take great care in implementing the plan to create a self-sustaining wolf population while minimizing impacts on our landowners, rural communities, agricultural industries and partners.”

In October, Oregon agreed to provide up to 10 wolves over the coming winter. Ten wolves captured in Oregon were released in Colorado in December.

In January, CPW signed the agreement with the Colville Tribes for up to 15 wolves during the 2024–2025 winter.

Colorado wildlife officials have also talked with Washington state officials about potentially capturing wolves there. While Washington officials previously said they could not provide wolves for the first release, they indicated they were open to further conversations.

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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – Police are searching for information on what appeared to be an attempted kidnapping.

They said it happened on west Bijou street, near Old Colorado City. According to police, a minor was riding their bicycle home from work around midnight.

They said that person was approached by a minivan. A passenger in the van got out and tried to grab the bicyclist, according to police. That bicyclist was able to kick the suspect away and leave.

Police said they don’t know what happened to the suspect or the vehicle and they said the bicyclist did not see them again. The only description they got was that the suspect was a man of unknown race.

If you have any information in this case, you can call police at their non-emergency line or Pikes Peak Crime Stoppers at (719) 634-STOP.

Copyright 2024 KKTV. All rights reserved.

Firefighters battling three wildfires along Colorado’s Front Range continued to make significant gains in containment Sunday as more mandatory evacuation orders were lifted across Larimer, Boulder and Jefferson counties.

The Alexander Mountain, Stone Canyon and Quarry fires have burned nearly 12,000 acres, forced thousands of people to evacuate, damaged or destroyed 51 structures and killed one person over the last week.

But fire officials on Sunday spoke optimistically about firefighting efforts and the days ahead.

The Stone Canyon fire burning north of Lyons reached 100% containment Sunday night and Boulder County officials lifted all evacuation orders for people living near the 1,557-acre blaze.

The fire, which killed one person and destroyed five homes since it started burning Tuesday, is being investigated as arson.

Containment on the 472-acre Quarry fire burning near Deer Creek Canyon increased to 35% on Sunday, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Mark Techmeyer said at an afternoon briefing.

The fire, which forced nearly 600 homes to evacuate after it started burning late Tuesday night, has not destroyed any structures.

Fire crews are focused on proactive burning along the fire’s western edge to increase containment, Techmeyer said. There will be planned power outages in the mandatory evacuation area Monday as part of that effort.

Scattered showers on Sunday did not make an impact on the fire but provided a much-needed morale boost for the 190 firefighters on the ground, Techmeyer said. Most of the personnel on the fire are volunteers, he said.

“We’re really happy (with) where we are,” Techmeyer said. “It was a whole different situation on Wednesday and Thursday. Everything has worked out in our favor, and we’re going to get this thing done.”

Techmeyer did not release any additional details about the arson investigation.

“There’s nothing I can share, but we’re working on it,” he said. “We want this person as bad as everyone.”

Jefferson County officials hope the remaining mandatory evacuations will be lifted in the next few days, Techmeyer said.

More than 500 firefighters battling the Alexander Mountain fire 10 miles west of Loveland gained 54% containment on the 9,668-acre fire as of Sunday afternoon, county and federal officials said in a briefing.

Damage assessment teams finished surveying burned areas this weekend and found 26 homes and 21 outbuildings destroyed, Larimer County Sheriff John Feyen said at the briefing. Four homes sustained minor damage in the fire.

It’s possible more structures were damaged or destroyed that county officials don’t know about yet, Feyen said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Investigative teams this weekend found signs of human activity and multiple lightning strikes where the fire started, Feyen said.

Larimer County officials lifted more mandatory evacuation orders Sunday morning and will meet with people at evacuation centers to verify addresses and distribute credentials so residents can return to their neighborhoods this week.

U.S. 34 will likely remain closed for another week so utility crews can repair infrastructure, Feyen said.

More than 1,000 contacts are still on mandatory evacuation status, Feyen said. Households often have multiple contacts.

The Alexander Mountain fire is contained on the eastern and southern edges, and fire officials attributed the containment gains to good decisions by fire crews and an influx in resources.

“We asked for the resources, it took them a little while to get there but because of the threat, because of the values around this fire, we were able to get what we needed,” said Southwest Area 1 Incident Commander Carl Schwope.

“Right now we’re at a good place for resources and that’s why you see the progress that you see, a lot of good folks doing a lot of hard work,” he added.

Some resources will likely start being released to respond to more critical fires in the coming days, Schwope said.

Crews fighting wildfires on Colorado’s Western Slope also saw containment gains this weekend, with the 193-acre Currant Creek fire burning near Cedaredge and the Grand Mesa in Delta County fully contained on Saturday.

The Bucktail fire burning across 3,515 acres northeast of Nucla in Montrose County was 5% contained as of Sunday afternoon, according to fire officials.

No structures are threatened and no evacuations are in effect, though the fire has shown “very high spread potential and is exhibiting active to extreme fire behavior,” fire officials said in an update.