Embattled wolves gain a new frontier in Democratic Colorado. The move is stoking political tensions

Wildlife officials plan to release up to 10 gray wolves in Colorado in coming weeks. The reintroduction of the predators to the central Rocky Mountains comes at the behest of urban voters. It's rankling rural residents who don’t want the predators but have waning influence in the Democratic-led state. The most ambitious wolf reintroduction effort in the U.S. in almost three decades marks a sharp departure from efforts by Republican-led states to cull wolf packs. More releases are planned for Colorado over the next several years. That will start to fill in one of the last remaining major gaps in the western U.S. for a species that historically ranged from northern Canada to the desert southwest.