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Colorado's gray wolves roaming farther into Western Slope, new map shows

Colorado's gray wolves roamed farther into the Western Slope last month, with at least one of the canines setting foot in a watershed that extends to the Utah border, according to a new map released by Colorado Parks and Wildlife on Wednesday.

The February map is the first full month of location data that includes 15 wolves captured in Canada and released in Colorado in January.

At least one wolf was tracked in a Western Slope watershed that includes the Interstate 70 corridor through Mesa County and abuts the northern border of Delta County.

The map shows watersheds where at least one wolf wearing a GPS collar was tracked between Jan. 21 and Tuesday. Just because an entire watershed is highlighted doesn't mean the wolf or wolves roamed throughout the entire area or are still there, according to state wildlife officials.

Gray wolves also traveled in watersheds that span western, northern and central Colorado, from Grand Junction to Vail and the Wyoming border to Salida.

Wolf activity was seen in watersheds that include Rio Blanco, Grand, Jackson, Summit, Eagle, Pitkin, Chaffee, Park, Teller and Fremont counties, according to state data.

The first year of Colorado's voter-mandated gray wolf reintroduction has faced several legal challenges and other hurdles, including the capture and relocation of most of the Copper Creek pack after a series of livestock killings near Kremmling.