Wolves are returning to Colorado. But is it too crowded for them to thrive?

This December 2018 photo provided by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife shows the breeding male of the Chesnimnus Pack caught on camera during the winter survey on U.S. Forest Service land in northern Wallowa County, Oregon. (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife via AP, File) (AP)

Carbondale, COLO — Packs of gray wolves will soon roam again through the Colorado Rockies as state wildlife managers race to meet a year-end deadline to begin reintroducing the wild canines that were eradicated by humans here in the 1940s.

In 2020, voters in the state passed Proposition 114, requiring wolves to be reintroduced within three years. Since then, state wildlife officials have been holding public forums. They also convened a large stakeholder group compromised of people with polar opposite views on wolves, including rural county leaders and environmentalists. There were also outfitters and ranchers who overwhelmingly didn't support reintroducing them.