In 2026, Colorado voters could be asked to recall the law that brought wolves back to the state one year ago.  

Colorado Advocates for Smart Wolf Policy filed a draft proposition on Jan. 3 to pull back wolf reintroduction with the Colorado Legislative Council, the first step in a long process to put the matter back in front of voters. 

“In recent years, the reintroduction of wolves into Colorado has sparked a great deal of controversy and debate,” wrote Patrick Davis in a Dec. 29 blog post on the group’s website. “Many residents, including ranchers, farmers, sportsmen, hunters, and hunting guides, have found themselves adversely affected by this decision. From livestock loss to impacts on local wildlife populations, the presence of wolves has had significant repercussions on various facets of life in Colorado.” 

Colorado voters narrowly approved wolf reintroduction in 2020 with 50.91% of the vote. Enacting the new law, Colorado Parks and Wildlife brought the first 10 wolves to Colorado in December 2023. Per this statute, the agency will seek to establish a sustainable population of wolves by transferring between 30 and 50 wolves over three to five years.  

The draft proposal submitted aims to retract the entire statute. 

Parks and Wildlife spent the first year balancing its directive to execute the law amid rising concerns from ranchers dealing with wolf-livestock conflicts. While it has introduced new programs and funding to build out its conflict mitigation toolbox, many ranchers have been asking to pause the effort. The state legislature has also had conversations about whether a pause could save Colorado money. 

In September, a group of 26 organizations representing producers across the state submitted a petition to halt efforts to the Parks and Wildlife Commission. The petition requested that seven items be fully addressed, funded and implemented before more wolves are reintroduced. While the commission will be making its first ruling on the petition at its meeting this Wednesday in Denver, Parks and Wildlife staff has recommended its denial. 

In addition to claiming it has met all seven requests, the agency’s recommendation held that introducing more wolves — which it is scheduled to do this winter — is imperative to furthering state law. 

“Halting wolf reintroduction would be contrary to the biological principles guiding the reintroduction process, the intent of Proposition 114, now codified at section 33-2-105.8, C.R.S., and the Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan,” Parks and Wildlife Director Jeff Davis wrote in his letter to the commission. 

Proponents of the initiative to repeal the law behind these reintroduction efforts “believe that the current law is not adequately protecting the interests of Colorado residents and their way of life,” according to another of Davis’s blog posts on its site. 

“By repealing the law, they hope to restore the balance between conservation efforts and the sustainability of local industries,” Davis wrote.

Following its submission last week, the initiative will now be reviewed by Colorado Legislative Council staff at a public review and comment hearing on Friday, Jan. 17. The proposal will be represented by Stan VanderWerf of El Paso County and Spencer Thomas of Garfield County. Following the hearing — where staff will review the proposal’s language and open it for consideration — the group will have an opportunity to make any changes before filing it with the Secretary of State’s Office.

As with any citizen-led measure striving to make it on Colorado’s ballot, this is the first of many hearings and reviews the initiative will undergo. Should a ballot title and submission be approved by the Secretary of State’s Office, the group will also need to collect around 124,000 signatures from registered voters.