Fate of Colorado's wolf reintroduction effort remains up in the air after Thursday hearing

A federal judge in Denver did not rule on the fate of Colorado's wolf reintroduction plan during a hearing Thursday.

Judge Regina M. Rodriguez heard arguments pitting livestock producer groups against wildlife conservation groups after a lawsuit was filed to stop the plan.

The Colorado Cattlemen’s Association and Gunnison County Stockgrowers Association on Monday sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Colorado Parks and Wildlife in an effort to delay reintroduction based on a claim that the agencies failed to properly conduct environmental impact reviews regarding reintroduction resulting in "significant costs on the industry."

Wildlife conservation groups Wednesday filed a motion for the judge to intervene and dismiss the livestock producers' claims.

Judge Rodriguez is expected to issue a ruling on the case Friday, Dec. 15.

"The lawful path forward is clear, and it includes wolf pawprints in the snow this winter," Michael Saul, Rockies and Plains program director at Defenders of Wildlife, said in a news release. "We will not relent in our efforts to ensure the timely return of this keystone species to Colorado’s mountains.''

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is in the process of capturing as many as 10 wolves in northeast Oregon to serve as initial release animals into Grand, Summit and Eagle counties. Under the state's wolf recovery plan, the state's goal is to reintroduce up to 50 wolves over the next several years in hopes of reestablishing a sustainable population.

A narrowly passed voter initiative in 2020 called for the reintroduction of the animals west of the Continental Divide by the end of this year.

Wolves were exterminated from the state by the mid-1940s and are classified and are federally protected under the Endangered Species Act.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fate of Colorado's wolf reintroduction effort remains up in the air