In a bit of an interstate shuffle that sounds more like a witness protection program than wildlife management, gray wolf 2403 has been safely escorted back to Colorado turf. After the wolf was nabbed in New Mexico, Colorado Parks and Wildlife took custody and released it back into the wilds of Grand County, a maneuver made possible by some cross-jurisdiction cooperation that largely avoided the drama one might expect in an inter-species jurisdictional tug-of-war.
According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, New Mexico's Game and Fish Department captured the roving wolf under the auspices of a Memorandum of Understanding, or MOU, aimed at ensuring the integrity of regional wolf populations, because preserving biodiversity isn't a task confined to the lines we draw on maps. Acting CPW Director Laura Clellan was quoted as saying, “We are grateful to our partners at the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish for their efforts to capture and return a member of Colorado’s gray wolf population,” as per Colorado Parks and Wildlife. This spirit of environmental kumbaya is refreshing, given that these animals don't really care for human-drawn borders.
The thought process behind the wolf's drop-off point included a mix of matchmaking and safety considerations, keeping the lone traveler away from livestock while also kindling potential romance with an unpaired female wolf; call it a conservationist cupid's arrow. Details on the exact rendezvous point, however, are staying under wraps, in what seems like an attempt to stave off paparazzi or at least poachers in the service of giving 2403 a fighting chance at a normal, undisturbed life.
The MOU that underpins this whole wolf relocation effort marks a significant collaborative milestone between Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah in the dance that is wildlife management. Wolf Conservation Program Manager Eric Odell told Colorado Parks and Wildlife, “This MOU is a demonstration of the proactive steps CPW and neighboring state wildlife agencies took during our planning and implementation processes.” Gray wolf 2403's journey is something of a litmus test, environmentally speaking. Will more states play nice when it comes to walking the line between recovery programs and real-life environmental sitreps because conservation isn't a solo gig, it's a regional ensemble act.
