Overview

• The proposal will be taken up in a special legislative session starting Thursday that was called to address the budget shortfall tied to recent federal tax changes.
• The measure would halt new wolf transports this fiscal year while keeping funding in place for staffing, conflict mitigation and rancher compensation.
• Roughly $254,000 earmarked for moving additional wolves would instead support a program intended to lower individual-market health insurance premiums.
• State costs for the wolf program reached about $3.5 million in 2024–25, far above an earlier $800,000 annual estimate, after two release rounds established at least about 30 wolves in Colorado.
• Wildlife advocates denounced the pause as undermining voter-approved reintroduction, and reporters note the bill’s prospects are uncertain despite bipartisan sponsorship.