Colorado lawmakers push for pause on wolf reintroduction in session

Colorado lawmakers will consider pausing the state’s wolf reintroduction program for a year to reduce spending amid a massive budget deficit.

A bipartisan bill, made public Tuesday , would reallocate $254,000 that’s set aside for transporting more wolves to Colorado this winter and instead use it to help pay for a state program to lower health insurance costs. The bill will be heard during a special legislative session that starts Thursday to address the $783 million state general fund budget deficit caused by the federal tax bill.

The bill has broad sponsorship, extending from the Western Slope to the Front Range. But it was unclear if it would gain traction with lawmakers more broadly during the short session.

Under the bill, state funding for other aspects of the wolf program — l