Here’s where Colorado’s wolves roamed in July

For the first time since they were reintroduced to the state in December, Colorado’s gray wolves have moved out of central Grand County, state wildlife officials said in their July report.

In July, the 11 wolves and one pup stayed relatively in the same watershed areas as they did in May and June, traveling between Routt, Jackson, Larimer, Grand, Eagle and Summit counties, according to a new location map released Tuesday by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

CPW releases a map each month showing which watersheds the state’s collared wolves have traveled in, wildlife officials said. A wolf may or may not remain there now, and it may not have traversed every part of that watershed.

The updated map shows wolf activity from June 25 through July 23 in watersheds from the Wyoming border to Interstate 70 and from west of Craig in Moffat County to west of Fort Collins in Larimer County.

While the monthly maps from December to June have shown wolves using watersheds across Grand County to the border of Boulder County, the July map showcases a lack of data in the area, indicating that wolves didn’t visit the area at all during July.

The collars record a GPS position every four hours and send the data to state biologists once four locations are recorded, CPW officials said. State officials do not share specific locations to protect the wolves and may “buffer” maps to protect wolves during certain times of year, such as mating season.

Although July’s map highlighted watershed areas south of Interstate 70, CPW officials said no wolves had passed the major highway and the population was exploring land to the north.