THE BLOG
Updated: 5 days ago
From GPS Signals in Western Watersheds to the Wider Story of Wolves in the United States
At first glance, Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s August 2026 wolf map appears to show an enormous sweep of wolf country. Purple-shaded watersheds stretch across much of northwestern and west-central Colorado, from the state’s northern border through mountain counties and south toward the Gunnison Basin.
But the map is not a wolf population map. It is not a map of occupied territory, wolf density, pack boundaries or current wolf locations. It is something more limited—and, when read correctly, extremely valuable.
Published by Colorado Parks and Wildlife on August 26, 2026, the map summarizes GPS data collected between July 21 and August 25. A watershed is shaded when at least one location from a GPS-collared wolf was recorded within that watershed during the reporting period. One wolf passing briefly through one corner of a watershed is enough for the entire unit to appear purple.
That distinction is essential. The map shows where collared wolves generated GPS locations during approximately one month. It does not show that wolves used every part of a highlighted watershed, that they remained there, or that wolves are present there today.
- WOLF EMPIRE
- 1 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
When Colorado voters approved the return of gray wolves to the state, they did more than authorize a wildlife-management program. They initiated an extraordinary experiment involving democracy, ecology, rural livelihoods, cultural identity, and the meaning of wilderness in modern America.
Wolf Empire, an upcoming documentary written, produced, and directed by Matt Skinner, enters the center of that experiment.
Against the vast landscapes of the Rocky Mountains, the film follows the consequences of Colorado’s decision to restore wolves to territory from which they had been absent for generations. The animals are central to the story, but the documentary is ultimately concerned with something even larger: what happens when people with profoundly different relationships to the land are asked to share it with one another and with a powerful predator.
This is not simply a film about whether wolves are good or bad for the environment. It is a cinematic examination of democracy, conservation, ranching, identity, fear, power, and coexistence.
View the official trailer, explore the production, and follow future release announcements at WolfEmpire.org.