Wolf reintroduction involves the reintroduction of a portion of grey wolves in areas where native wolves have been extirpated. More than 30 subspecies of Canis lupus have been recognized, and grey wolves, as colloquially understood, comprise nondomestic/feral subspecies. Reintroduction is only considered where large tracts of suitable wilderness still exist and where certain prey species are abundant enough to support a predetermined wolf population. United States Arizona and New Mexico The five last known wild Mexican gray wolves were captured in 1980 in accordance with an agreement between the United States and Mexico intended to save the critically endangered subspecies. Between 1982 and 1998, a comprehensive captive-breeding program brought Mexican wolves back from the brink of extinction. Over 300 captive Mexican wolves were part of the recovery program. The ultimate goal for these wolves is to reintroduce them to areas of their former range. In March 1998, this reintroduction campaign began with the releasing of three packs into the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona, and 11 wolves into the Blue Range Wilderness Area of New Mexico. By 2014, as many as 100 wild Mexican wolves were in Arizona and New Mexico. The final goal for Mexican wolf recovery is a wild, self-sustaining population of at least 300 individuals. , 186 wolves were counted in the annual survey. In 2023, there were at least 241 Mexican wolves: 136 in New Mexico (40 packs), and 105 in Arizona (19 packs). Colorado Wolves traversed a Rocky Mountain pathway from Canada to Mexico until the 1940s. They are seen by wildlife experts as essential to the native balance of species, species interactions, and ecosystem health. Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) created a multidisciplinary working group that drafted a wolf management plan for possible reintroduction. The Colorado Wildlife Commission approved the plan in May 2005. Proposition 114, a ballot initiative to introduce wolves in the western part of the state by 2023, was narrowly approved by voters in November 2020. The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission was tasked with preparing a plan. Northern Rocky Mountains Grey wolf packs were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park and Idaho starting in 1995. These wolves were considered as “experimental, nonessential” populations per article 10(j) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Such classification gave government officials greater leeway in managing wolves to protect livestock, which was considered one of a series of compromises wolf reintroduction proponents made with concerned local