DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced Monday that five wolves were successfully released onto public land in Grand County.

This is the first round of wolves released in Colorado after voters approved a ballot measure for reintroduction in 2020.

A video shared by CPW shows Gov. Jared Polis personally opening one of the cages that housed one of the wolves.

“I am proud of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff for their hard work to make this happen,” Polis said in a statement. “The shared efforts to reintroduce wolves are just getting started and wolves will rejoin a diverse ecosystem of Colorado wildlife.”

The wolves were captured in Oregon. Before being released, they were weighed and measured and genetic material was taken. Veterinarians also determined that they were fit for relocation.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife releases a gray wolf on Dec. 18, 2023, as part of the voter mandate to reintroduce the animals to the state (Colorado Parks and Wildlife)

All five wolves were also fitted with GPS satellite collars for tracking by CPW staff.

The group released included four juvenile wolves — two females and two males from two separate packs — and one adult male from a third pack.

CPW said the process will repeat until at least 10 to 15 wolves have been reintroduced by mid-March 2024. In all, CPW hopes to release 30 to 50 wolves captured by nearby states over the next few years.

Late Friday, a judge denied a request from ranching groups to halt the reintroduction.

The case will continue going through the court system, but the denial allowed the planned release, which the ballot measure required to happen before Dec. 31 of this year, to go forward.