Colorado releases first 5 wolves in reintroduction plan approved by voters to chagrin of ranchers

By JESSE BEDAYN
Associated Press

GRAND COUNTY, Colorado (AP) — Wildlife officials have released five gray wolves into a remote forest in Colorado, kicking off a voter-approved reintroduction program. The plan was embraced in the state’s mostly Democratic urban corridor but staunchly opposed by conservative voters in rural communities where ranchers worry about the predators attacking livestock. The wolves were set free in Grand County in a location that state officials kept undisclosed to protect the predators. It marked the start of the most ambitious wolf reintroduction effort in the U.S. in almost three decades.