Blog Posts

Northeast Wolf Coalition: Our Vision For Wolf Recovery

9/10/2015

“Like winds and sunsets, wild things were taken for granted until progress began
to do away with them.
Now we face the question whether a still higher 'standard of living' is worth its cost
in things natural, wild and free.”
~Aldo Leopold, Foreword to a Sand County Almanac (1949)

With those words, conservationist Aldo Leopold began a serious dialog about the state of wild lands and wildlife on the American landscape. For those of us who live in the Northeast, this conversation has never been more critical. For more than a century, the northeastern United States has been regaining its wildness. Where forests had been largely cleared in 19th century, the woods have returned. Where wildlife such as moose, bear, beaver—even deer—had been eliminated, these animals have rebounded. While this is cause for hope, this remarkable recovery seems incomplete.

The decline of large predators and other apex consumers at the top of the food chain has disrupted ecosystems all over our continent, and it is arguably humankind's most pervasive influence on the natural world. For our region, the wolf is the missing component of our regional ecology and one of the top predators that once called the Northeast its home.

Recognizing the need to explore the need for this apex predator and the potential for its recovery in the Northeast USA, the Northeast Wolf Coalition was established in March, 2014 as an alliance of conservation organizations in New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut and beyond. The Coalition’s work is guided by some of our nation’s best and brightest conservation scientists to ensure the foundation of its work is based on the application of the best available and most current scientific principles. The Coalition believes the return of the wolf will reflect a more fully functional and wild Northeast, with wolves fulfilling dynamic and evolving ecological functions in the changing environments that comprise our region.

As conservationists in the 21st century, we are faced with the challenge of helping nature continue to heal and flourish for future generations. Thus, the need to explore the critical factors that affect the wolf’s return and its potentially positive impact to the natural biological diversity of the Northeast has never been more important.

The Northeast Wolf Coalition envisions ecologically effective wolf populations in healthy, diverse ecosystems managed as a public trust across North America. To achieve that vision, wildlife conservationists must be equipped with a foundation of knowledge and the necessary tools to proceed with due diligence to promote wolf recovery in the region.

Thus, it is the a priority of the Northeast Wolf Coalition to, first and foremost, encourage effective trans-boundary cooperative relationships with federal, state, and provincial agencies, organizations, and the general public so that we can collaboratively explore and design the best policies and practices that will encourage the wolf's natural return to the region.

Photo: Wolf Conservation Center

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Northeast Wolf Coalition Advocates for Wolf Recovery in New York

7/17/2015

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The Northeast Wolf Coalition (NEWC) respectfully submits these comments concerning the revisions by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) to New York’s State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) for Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN).

In NY’s 2005 SWAP wolves and other extirpated species were among those included on the SGCN list. The NYDEC itself acknowledged the need to recognize the wolf listing as a SGCN in its 2005 Strategy for Conserving New York’s Fish and Wildlife Resources:

“The gray wolf, Canada lynx, and Eastern cougar are species historically present in New York but extirpated because of unregulated harvest and habitat change. Current habitat conditions in New York may support the occurrence of gray wolf and cougar, but the social acceptability of doing so must be assessed first. Their listing as SGCN will facilitate that evaluation. Canada lynx may eventually expand to parts of New York from Canada or adjoining states, and if documented, they will need careful monitoring and management. The Algonquin population of gray wolves presently ranges 50 miles north of New York’s border with Canada. Biologists have already documented the movement of large mammals like moose across this divide in recent years (A. Hicks, personal communication, September 23, 2005).” (Page 55)

We request the NYDEC to retain management recommendations for wolves from the 2005 SWAP by considering Canis lupus and Canis lycaon as additions to NY’s SGCN. Such an update would allow NY to receive critical federal funding to explore the potential for species recovery and equip the state with the tools and resources to proceed with due diligence.

Recent peer reviewed scientific evidence has concluded that the decline of large predators has disrupted ecosystems all over our continent, and it is arguably humankind's most pervasive influence on the natural world. For NY, the wolf was one of the top predators that once called the Northeast its home and is presently the missing component of our regional ecology.

It is important to note that the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) met at the end of April to re-assess the at-risk status of several species, including the eastern wolf. “New genetic analyses indicate that the Eastern Wolf is not a subspecies of Gray Wolf. In May 2015, a new wildlife species, Eastern Wolf (Canis sp. cf. lycaon) was designated Threatened.” (COSEWIC Wildlife Species Assessments (detailed version), May 2015) As a reminder, in its 2005 SGCN, the NYDEC acknowledged the Algonquin population of gray wolves as presently ranging just 50 miles north of NY’s border with Canada. It’s our assertion that we bear a responsibility as fellow conservationists to acknowledge the scientific conclusions made by COSEWIC and begin to appropriately prepare for the potential natural recovery of the Eastern wolf into NY and the rest of the northeastern U.S.A.

As conservationists, we are faced with the challenge of helping nature continue to heal and flourish for future generations. Thus, we need to explore the critical factors that affect the wolf’s return and consider its potential for positively impacting the natural biological diversity of the Northeast.

Thank you for the opportunity to present these comments. We look forward to future discussions with your agency regarding these concerns.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members and supporters of the Northeast Wolf Coalition,

Maggie Howell,
Coordinator
Northeast Wolf Coalition
http://northeastwolf.org
Contact: Maggie@nywolf.org

PLEASE ACT NOW

Friday, July 17, 2015
is the last day submit your
public comment to the
New York Dept. of
Environmental Conservation.

Please be a voice for
wolf recovery.

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Wolf Conservation Center Offers New Curriculum, "Tracks to the Future"

3/28/2015

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Tracks to the Future
Interdisciplinary and Service Learning Curriculum

Using Wolf Education to Promote Common Core Standards Grades 3 - 8

If you're an educator, please click HERE to view details about our July 2015
"Tracks to the Future" workshop for service credit on MyLearningPlan!

As citizens of the 21st century, our nation and world are at a crossroads when it comes to ensuring the future sustainability of our air, water, wild lands and wildlife for future generations. Ultimately, our nation’s future relies on a well-educated public to be wise stewards of the very environment that sustains us – now and for future generations.

In response to this call to action, schools and their community partners are the responsible agents for preparing the next generation to meet these challenges. Our children must acquire an awareness about threats to our natural treasures, and they must be taught conservation literacy – learning about and actively caring for the environment, understanding how human beings interact with and are dependent on different ecosystems, and developing critical-thinking skills to solve problems that affect America’s public lands and wildlife. Awareness and literacy can empower children with a fund of knowledge and the specific skills they will need to compete, collaborate, and participate as educated agents of change in our society.

“Interdisciplinary Curriculum in Wolf Education: Tracks to the Future” partners with educators in the implementation of a unique unit of study that affords elementary and middle school students differentiated opportunities to learn and master many of the required common core academic standards in Language Arts, Reading, Math, Science, Social Studies and the Arts while using the theme of wolf conservation as its integrating theme. It goals encourage students to pose and answer relevant questions about wolf recovery and conservation while they simultaneously acquire new knowledge, tools and the critical thinking skills that they will need as life-long learners, in general.

“Tracks to the Future” is an academically robust, relevant, and innovative “living curriculum.” It emphasizes cooperative learning, research and project-based learning, critical thinking and discussion, hands-on activities, and integrated service learning opportunities. Students develop and practice leadership skills by working in teams, listening to and accepting diverse opinions, solving problems, considering the long-term view, promoting actions that serve the greater good, and connecting with the community to make a difference.

Tomorrow's leaders need to be equipped for tomorrow's challenges. The Wolf Conservation Center has broken new ground by forging a commitment to help educate and motivate a literate generation of problem solvers and future decision-makers. In a world where it is increasingly difficult to engage student interest, Tracks to the Future offers an enriching way for both students and teachers to connect their appreciation of the natural world with academic learning and community service.

We invite educators to consider joining the effort!

Please click HERE to view details about our "Tracks to the Future" workshop for service credit on MyLearningPlan!

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Senator Kirsten Gillibrand sends letter to Secretary of Interior Sally Jewel supporting wolf recovery

12/10/2014

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Expresses Concern for Impending Decision to Remove Wolves from
Endangered Species Act

Recently, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) sent a letter to the Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell urging her to continue critical protections for endangered gray wolves. The letter acknowledges the independent peer review that found the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) failed to use the “best available science” when it drafted a proposed rule that would remove Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for gray wolves in the lower 48 states with the exception of the critically endangered Mexican gray wolf.

The Senator stated, “Specifically, the Northeastern ecosystems are lacking a top carnivore as evidenced by large deer populations. A necessary element for maintaining healthy ecosystems is the presence of large carnivores at ecologically effective population densities.

“I couldn’t agree with the senator more,” said wildlife biologist Dave Parsons, a science adviser for Project Coyote and the Northeast Wolf Coalition. “She has a keen understanding of the ecological importance of wolves and the ESA mandate for the use of best science in making decisions about their recovery and future conservation.”

Senator Gillibrand is not the only elected official to express such concerns. In December, 2013, Congressman Raul Grijalva and 83 colleagues wrote and urged Interior Department officials to “listen to the many wildlife and conservation scientists who believe this proposal is premature.” In March, 2014, following an independent peer review of the scientific basis for delisting gray wolves, Congressman Peter DeFazio and 73 colleagues also wrote expressing concerns about the proposal. They recommended that the proposed rule be rescinded immediately. In addition, in 2013, a team of scientists wrote about in the scientific journal Conservation Letters, “[The USFWS] entirely ignores a significant body of scientific knowledge... the proposed rule would set an unfortunate precedent with far-reaching consequences, including dramatically limiting recovery efforts for other species protected by the Endangered Species Act (ESA).”

“These Congressional letters reflect the intent of Congress in drafting the ESA and the will of the U.S. citizenry who want the spirit and letter of our most powerful environmental law to be upheld for the gray wolf,” said Adrian Treves, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at University of Wisconsin–Madison, Science Adviser for Project Coyote and Northeast Wolf Coalition.

“It is apparent that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service presided over a process in which political and economic considerations were at the forefront - not science,” stated Maggie Howell, coordinator for the Northeast Wolf Coalition and Executive Director of the Wolf Conservation Center in New York.

The Senator added, “The 2011 gray wolf delisting, specific to the Northern Rocky Mountains and Western Great Lakes region, has already lead to dramatic reductions in wolf populations, partially due to inadequate regulatory mechanisms and post-delisting monitoring as mandated explicitly by the ESA.”

The Senator concluded by recommending that the Secretary “not delist the gray wolf…further evaluate the scientific material used for this determination… and develop a recovery plan for wolves that includes continued legal protection in order to enhance restoration and recognizes the need to restore and protect the important ecological role for wolves across the United States.”

Read Senator Gillibrand’s letter to Secretary Jewell here.
Read Congressman Raul Grijalva’s Congressional sign-on letter to Secretary Jewell here.
Read Congressman Peter DeFazio’s Congressional sign-on letter to Secretary Jewell here.
Read Bruskotter et al. in Conservation Letters here.

Northeast Wolf Coalition
Northeast Wolf Coalition is working group of partner organizations, and scientific advisers that collaborate on the critical issues that relate to wolf recovery in North America.
Visit: http://www.northeastwolf.org/
Wolf Conservation Center
The Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, NY is an environmental education organization committed to conserving wolf populations in North America through science-based education programming and participation in the federal Species Survival Plans for the critically endangered Mexican gray wolf and red wolf.
Visit: http://nywolf.org/
Project Coyote
Project Coyote is a North America coalition of wildlife educators, scientists, predator friendly ranchers, and community leaders promoting coexistence between people and wildlife, and compassionate conservation through education, science, and advocacy.
Visit: http://www.projectcoyote.org/

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Wolves at our door?

12/8/2014

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From: Adirondack Explorer
November/December, 2014; "Viewpoint" p. 36
by Maggie Howell and Diane Bentivegna

No other North American mammal inspires such a wide range of human emotions as the gray wolf. Feared and admired, cursed and revered, wolves are the stuff of legends and a symbol of America’s vanishing wilderness. Their reputation is larger than life; their role in the restoration of America’s wildlife heritage is bigger still. The passionate positive and negative responses that wolves inspire in people have left the issue of their recovery in suitable habitat throughout their historic range both contentious and undecided, but also full of promise.

The howl of the wolf has been silent in the Northeast for over a hundred years. Over three centuries, as the great eastern forest was turned into farmland, wolves were shot, poisoned, trapped, and burned. By the mid-1800s, wolves were eliminated in northern Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. By 1900, they were gone from the Adirondacks.
Today, scientists recognize the ecological importance of the wolf. As Aldo Leopold, Adolph Murie, and others argued eloquently decades ago, apex predators, especially wolves, are essential for resilient, healthy ecosystems. And with the support of the American public and the safety net of the Endangered Species Act, the wolf was able to return to portions of its native range in the Lower Forty-Eight.

Some wolves came back on their own. Minnesota wolves reclaimed adjacent states in the western Great Lakes region. Some wolves got help. In one of those rare moments when stars align in the political sky, the federal government gave the green light to return wolves to the northern Rockies. Here in the Northeast, there are no plans for a reintroduction. Wolves, however, are wanderers, and have demonstrated that they are capable of epic treks. In recent years, there have been several reports of wolves from Canada crossing the frozen St. Lawrence Seaway into Maine, of wolves traveling south from Yellowstone into Utah and Colorado, and of one wolf, OR-7, becoming the first wild wolf to enter California in over eighty years.

But just as wolves are beginning to reclaim territory, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is pushing a plan to remove federal protections from nearly all gray wolves in the contiguous United States—a move that, if implemented, will threaten the fragile populations still trying to make a comeback on the American landscape.

In March, the Northeast Wolf Coalition submitted comments opposing this proposal. According to a peer-reviewed report by an independent panel of scientists produced by the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, the service’s move to strip federal protection nationwide is flawed. The peer-review committee reported that "there was unanimity among the panel that the [delisting] rule does not currently represent the ‘best available science.'”

Nevertheless, the delisting seems imminent.

Studies have shown that the Northeast has enough prey and habitat to support wolf recovery, and public surveys demonstrate support as well. If wolves do return to the region, however, their long-term survival will depend on their official status at the state level.

Presently, none of the five states (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and New York) affords wolves any protection beyond a prohibition on hunting or trapping. None of the states has a management plan to address the potential return of wolves. None promotes wolf recovery, and none has a plan to protect wolves from being killed, whether accidentally or intentionally. Growing evidence suggests wolves are attempting to naturally recolonize the region. But because all five states sanction policies that encourage the unregulated killing of wild canids (i.e., coyotes), this evidence is in the form of dead wolves.

The State & Tribal Wildlife Grants Program is federally appropriated monies dedicated to the prevention of endangered species listings. The program provides funding to state fish and wildlife agencies in every state, territory and the District of Columbia and is matched with state and private funds. State and Tribal Wildlife Grants have funded the development, revision and implementation of State Wildlife Action Plans. Updating these plans will enable state wildlife agencies to integrate the latest information about wolves and leverage more state wildlife grant funding to promote their return. New York and other states will have a chance to improve the chances for the wolf’s recovery when they update their wildlife-conservation plans by 2015.

The value of conserving endangered species and preserving biodiversity is an axiom of the twenty-first century. The ecological importance of a top predator such as the gray wolf is undeniable. The return of the wolf will reflect a more fully functional and wild ecosystem in Northeast, with wolves fulfilling a dynamic and evolving ecological function in the changing environments that comprise the region. We have known for years that wolves disproportionately affect their environment relative to their abundance. As top-level predators, they are influential in shaping and maintaining the structure of their natural communities. Their presence and activities benefit numerous other species, helping determine the numbers and kinds of mammals, birds and plants in an area. For example, bears, weasels, ravens and eagles often scavenge on deer carcasses left by wolves. Wolves alter the feeding behavior of deer, which limits over-browsing and prevents the destruction of plants and habitats vital to many species of birds. When wolves recolonize areas, they induce vegetative changes allowing for the return of beaver and migrating birds previously driven out of denuded habitats. Predation by wolves also removes animals that are weaker genetically or harbor sicknesses.

The effects of predators on ecosystems do not operate in isolation but interact in complex ways with other factors, such as the productivity of ecosystems and the diversity of species within them. To enable wildlife managers to best harness the ecosystem services that wolves and other predators provide, there is a need for better knowledge of the processes that govern the strength of their interactions with other species and the complexities of their effects. The Coalition recommends (1) the wolf - C. lupus, C. lycaon, and/or their hybrids - be considered a species of highest priority; that is, it is extremely vulnerable and rare with immediate limits to its survivability based on known problems and known impacts to the population in the region; (2) the states and the federal government work cooperatively to develop and implement a trans-boundary Northeastern Wolf Recovery Plan that affords the protection needed to enhance natural recolonization of wolves to the Northeast; (3) the states work cooperatively to implement comprehensive public education and outreach programs to promote knowledge of the species and the regulations and laws as they relate to the protection of wolves across the Northeast.

The Northeast has unique opportunities and challenges. Without a plan for its recovery, the wolf will continue to be challenged by factors that will preclude its natural return to the region. Many ecologists fear we may not realize the full ecological impacts of the absence of wolves for generations to come. We thus have an obligation to the environment, to the wolf and to future generations to restore the wolf to its rightful niche on the landscape, in our hearts and in our culture.

Maggie Howell is the executive director of the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, NY, and coordinator of the Northeast Wolf Coalition. Diane Bentivegna serves on the WCC’s Advisory Board and is a member of the Northeast Wolf Coalition.

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Walter Medwid: Time for Change in Managing Vermont's Wildlife

11/29/2014

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Originally posted: VtDigger.org: Time for Change in Managing Vermont's Wildlife
NOV. 21 2014

This commentary is by Walter Medwid, a biologist who lives in Derby.

True to Vermont’s values, a board made up of citizens from around the state decides how to manage the state’s fish and wildlife. But, contrary to those values, the people serving on the Fish and Wildlife Board are chosen by the governor from a limited pool of citizens who take part in trapping hunting and fishing. This may seem to make sense, but wildlife is a public resource and not just important to people who are “consumers” of it.

This imbalance in representation came about for two reasons. First, hunting, fishing and trapping have traditionally been considered a mainstream of our Vermont culture. Second, hunting and fishing license fees and federal funds from taxes on certain sporting goods are an important source of income for the Department of Fish and Wildlife and to the governors who have to juggle budgets and appoint citizens to the board. It’s clear why governors would want to cater to that special interest group.

One clear sign that it may be time to do things differently is the steady decline in sales of hunting and fishing licenses. Since at least 1987, resident hunting and fishing license sales have dropped by double digits, but as Vermont’s culture and traditions have changed, the way wildlife management decisions are made has not. In the 21st century, having a Fish and Wildlife Board with a wide range of stakeholders who represent more contemporary and diverse public values is simply a sign of good government. We look at wildlife far differently than we did 25-50 years ago. Ironically, the consumer-value focus of the board becomes disproportionately stronger and even less representative of public interests as there are fewer hunters and fishers in the state.

One example of our changing views of wildlife is how we now think of predators. We once saw predators such as coyotes as vermin – the only good predator was a dead one. Today, through greater understanding of wildlife, ecology and the environment as a whole, most wildlife enthusiasts see the great value these animals bring to healthy wildlife communities. While many deer hunters see coyotes as a threat to “their” deer, biologists in New York have recently concluded that coyotes prey far less on deer and fawns than hunters believe. Only 10 percent of adult deer deaths are actually caused by coyotes. Biologists there have also found that coyotes hunt and eat beaver far more often than fawns. Regrettably, the board with its narrow focus and representation has, in the case of the coyote, kept the myth of coyote as “vermin” alive and well – they may be killed any day of the year for any reason or no reason. They seemingly dismiss and certainly discount more scientifically-grounded data.

The board’s stance on coyotes is even in conflict with the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s own professional wildlife biologists, who recognize the species’ importance in the natural Vermont community. They stress, “Coyotes fill the role of a natural predator, a role that is important for maintaining the dynamics and health of our ecosystems.”

It’s time for the Legislature and the governor to revisit Vermont’s wildlife laws and the mandate of the Fish and Wildlife Board so they reflect today’s Vermont, where hunting and fishing remains a key part of the equation, but is not the only “voice” represented at the decision-making table.

The board’s decision this year on moose management shows a similar disconnect. Vermont’s moose population is in decline – only half of what it was 10 years ago – and below the number state biologists estimate as what the landscape can handle. Yet instead of suspending the hunting season to allow the population to become stable again, the only consideration by the board was approving how many animals would be killed this year. This default to hunting values over ecological or wildlife-watching and eco-tourism interests reflects a serious lack of serving the entire public’s interests.

It’s time for the Legislature and the governor to revisit Vermont’s wildlife laws and the mandate of the Fish and Wildlife Board so they reflect today’s Vermont, where hunting and fishing remains a key part of the equation, but is not the only “voice” represented at the decision-making table. There should be a wider lens that the board looks through to ensure an ecologically diverse Vermont with healthy wildlife populations; the lens should not only look at game as the paramount product.

The gulf between who the board represents and the people it should be representing is growing and will only expand if the public at large is frozen out of the decision-making process. The response to no representation of the other sectors of Vermonters will surely be the “… rising tide of posted and inaccessible land,” as referenced by a recent fish and wildlife commissioner.

Hunters, trappers and fishers have done some of the heavy lifting when it comes to supplying fish and wildlife programs with money, although as license fee income has declined, support from general revenues has already increased. Logically that trend towards more public funding needs to grow since wildlife belongs to all Vermonters.

Stakeholders who represent the non-consumptive interests – the wildlife watchers (Vermont has one of the highest percentages of residents in the country who engage in some form of wildlife watching) and photographers, those who benefit from eco-tourism, and many more, need to step up to the plate and actively participate in hearings to give their input when decisions are made. They need to do this under a newly designed board. We need to anticipate vigorous debates as this new board reflects wider interests. However, that’s not a bad thing.

These changes would be a return to those Vermont values held so dear for so long – equal representation – equal voice that is true to the population’s needs and growth. Vermont could lead the pack by managing its wildlife this way. Should we expect anything less in a state where citizen involvement stands at the heart of its identity?

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Northeast Wolf Coalition draws wildlife experts to Walden Woods

11/20/2014

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Northeast Wolf Coalition Attendance

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 20, 2014

Contact:
Wolf Conservation Center: Maggie Howell, maggie@nywolf.org
Endangered Species Coalition: Tara Thornton; tthornton@endangered.org
RESTORE: The North Woods: Jym St. Pierre; jym@restore.org

Recognizing the need for an ongoing collaboration to explore the vision of and potential for wolf recovery in the Northeast USA, the Northeast Wolf Coalition, an alliance of conservation organizations from New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and beyond, recently gathered at Walden Woods in Lincoln, Massachusetts. Inspired by the lands, literature and legacy of the quintessential American author, philosopher, and naturalist, Henry David Thoreau, the Coalition examined its ethic of environmental stewardship and social responsibility - both cornerstones of Thoreau’s philosophy.

Informed by some of the nation’s best and brightest wildlife conservationists and scientists, the conference brought together more than two dozen stakeholders to review the focus and the direction of its mission and to plan collaborative projects based on common goals and the most current scientific principles.

The Coalition believes that the return of the wolf will reflect a more fully functional and wild ecosystem in the Northeast, with wolves fulfilling a dynamic and evolving ecological function in the changing environments that comprise the region.

"We know wolves and other top predators are key to a healthy ecosystem”, said Tara Thornton, Program Director for the national Endangered Species Coalition. “In the Northeast, it's critical to have protections in place for wolves if we are ever to see them return to their native landscape," she added.

“One of those safeguards must involve better protecting the hybrid eastern coyote which lives throughout the region,” said Jonathan Way, Ph.D., a biologist who has studied wild canids for over a decade. “While the eastern coyote has a different ecological role than larger wolves, it looks very similar and can easily be mistaken, even by trained wildlife biologists.”

Although the howl of the wolf has been silent in the Northeast for over a century, the Coalition worked together to design a preliminary framework from which it will begin to transfer scientific evidence into informed practice and advocacy to promote wolf recovery in the region.

According to Jym St. Pierre, Maine Director, RESTORE: The North Woods, “The wolf once was the most widely-distributed land mammal on Earth. It lived throughout the Northeast, performing an essential ecological role. While wolves are making a comeback across many parts of the U.S., they remain missing from our northeastern landscapes. Scientific studies show there is plenty of habitat and wild food to support a viable population of this important species. For biological, spiritual, and even economic reasons, it is time to get wolf recovery in the Northeast back on track as part of the rewilding of our region.”

The Coalition believes the imminent loss of federal protections for wolves in the lower 48 states threatens the survival of individual wolves that attempt to move into the region from existing populations located to the north and northwest in Canada that are well within dispersal range of reaching the Northeast.

“Wolf recovery is possible when states recognize their legal obligation to conserve the species as a public trust resource. Such recognition implies that states must now assume the critical role in wolf protection and apply the leadership necessary to ensure they recover in sustainable numbers throughout the region,” said Maggie Howell, Northeast Wolf Coalition Coordinator and Executive Director of the Wolf Conservation Center in New York. “Doing so moves the debate about wolf recovery in the Northeast back into the scientific as opposed to the political arena.”

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Center for Biological Diversity Report: Ample Room for Wolves in the Northeast

11/10/2014

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For Immediate Release, November 3, 2014
Contact: Amaroq Weiss, (707) 779-9613

New Report IDs 350,000 Square Miles of Additional
Habitat for Wolves in Lower 48

Obama Administration Prematurely Abandoning Recovery,
Despite Ample Room for Wolves in Southern Rockies, West Coast, Northeast

Photo: Center for Biological Diversity

SAN FRANCISCO— A first-of-its-kind analysis by the Center for Biological Diversity identifies 359,000 square miles of additional habitat for gray wolves in 19 of the lower 48 states that could significantly boost the nation’s 40-year wolf recovery efforts. The study indicates the gray wolf population could be doubled to around 10,000 by expanding recovery into areas researchers have identified as excellent habitat in the Northeast, West Coast and southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the Grand Canyon, an area where a radio-collared wolf was photographed in recent weeks.

Map by Curt Bradley, Center for Biological Diversity. This map and wolf photos are available for media use. The report comes as the Obama administration moves to strip Endangered Species Act protection from gray wolves by the end of the year, even though wolves have been recovered in less than 10 percent of their historic habitat and are routinely trekking hundreds of miles to disperse to areas of the American landscape they once called home.

“This wolf's pioneering journey to Arizona, like the wolf OR-7’s remarkable trek across Oregon to California, highlights the compelling on-the-ground reality made clear in this new report,” said Amaroq Weiss, the Center’s West Coast wolf organizer. “The Obama administration must finally acknowledge that the job of recovering wolves to sustainable populations is far from done.”

Today’s report, Making Room for Wolf Recovery: The Case for Maintaining Endangered Species Act Protections for America’s Wolves, analyzes 27 published research papers identifying suitable wolf habitat. It shows that the current wolf population of 5,400 could be nearly doubled if federal protections were retained and recovery efforts began to restore wolves to some of the places they once called home.

The report documents 56 instances over 30 years where wolves have dispersed from existing core recovery areas to states where they have yet to reestablish, including Colorado, Utah, California, New York, Massachusetts and Maine. These events, which frequently have ended in the dispersing wolves being shot, highlight the need for continued federal protections and recovery planning to increase the odds for dispersing wolves to survive and recolonize former terrain. The most famous dispersing wolf, OR-7, traveled hundreds of miles from northeast Oregon to California and has started a family along the border of the two states.

The report’s findings come as federal wildlife officials are working to verify the genetic identity of the radio-collared wolf photographed near Grand Canyon National Park — a discovery that suggests the wolf is likely a northern Rockies gray wolf who traveled hundreds of miles to historic wolf habitat where wolves were exterminated more than 50 years ago.

“What we’re seeing is that the amazing journeys of OR-7 and the wolf spotted in Arizona are far from oddities — they’re reflections of very natural dispersal patterns in recent years, where wolves have traveled hundreds of miles trying to expand to enough of their historic range to survive ongoing threats,” Weiss said. “But without the protection of the Endangered Species Act, we know that these wolves will too often face the same kind of hostility that nearly drove them extinct a century ago.”

Since endangered species protections were taken away from wolves in 2011 in the northern Rockies and western Great Lakes, the states have enacted aggressive hunting and trapping seasons designed to drastically reduce populations. To date more than 2,800 wolves have been killed, resulting in a 9 percent population decline in the northern Rockies and a 25 percent decline in Minnesota. Idaho passed legislation this year creating a "wolf control board," with the sole purpose of killing wolves, and appropriated $400,000 for the task. Removal of protection in the rest of the country will ensure that anti-wolf prejudices prevail and wolf recovery is stopped in its tracks.

“State management of wolves has turned an Endangered Species Act success story into a tragedy," said Weiss. "Rather than sound science, gray wolf management by the states has been dominated by anti-wolf hysteria and special-interest politics. Wolves need federal protection so they can survive, continue to recover, and eventually reprise their historic wilderness role at the top of the food chain.”

The report details the serious problems with state management and the important part wolves play in ecosystems; it can be read and downloaded here.

Background
Large members of the canid family, gray wolves are habitat generalists able to live nearly anywhere other than extreme desert or tropical environments, but which require human tolerance for survival. Living in family packs that typically range from five to 10 animals, wolves are highly social animals, with all pack members involved in rearing of young and in hunting forays for their prey (predominantly large wild ungulates such as elk, deer, moose and caribou). At around the age of two to three years, wolves tend to disperse from their family packs to seek mates and territories of their own.

Gray wolves were once the most widely ranging land mammals on the planet, with an estimated 2 million distributed throughout North America at the time of European colonization. As settlers moved west, they cleared the land for their grain and livestock, wiping out first the wolves’ wild prey and then the wolves themselves. Government-sponsored predator-eradication campaigns conducted on behalf of the livestock industry exterminated wolves everywhere in the lower 48 states, with the exception of a remnant population of fewer than 1,000 wolves in far northeastern Minnesota.

Wolves were first federally protected in 1967, under a precursor to the Endangered Species Act. This allowed Minnesota’s wolf population to expand in number and range into neighboring Wisconsin and parts of Michigan. In the mid-1990s, wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho; their descendants have slowly dispersed into parts of Washington and Oregon, with one wolf making it to California. In the late 1990s, the most highly endangered subspecies of gray wolf, the Mexican gray wolf, was reintroduced to Arizona.

In 2011 Congress stripped wolves of federal protections in the northern Rockies and adjacent areas, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did the same for wolves in the Western Great Lakes region. Under state management, in less than three years, wolf populations in these states have demonstrated substantial declines, with nearly 3,000 wolves killed in state-sanctioned hunting and trapping seasons.

In June 2013 the Obama administration proposed stripping federal protections from wolves across most of the lower 48 states. Despite receipt of more than 1.5 million public comments opposed to delisting wolves and critical comments from scientists and a peer review panel, the administration is expected to issue an official rule removing protection from wolves before the end of the year.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 800,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

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Support the Northeast Wolf Coalition in Style

10/16/2014

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In wilderness is the preservation of the world. ~Henry David Thoreau

Recognizing the need for a collaborative effort that explores the vision of and potential for wolf recovery in the Northeast USA, the Northeast Wolf Coalition was established in March, 2014 as an alliance of conservation organizations in New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut and beyond. The Coalition’s work, guided by some of our nation’s best and brightest conservation scientists, strives to ensure that the foundation of its vision and work is based on the application of the best available and most current scientific principles.

“We have unique opportunities and challenges here in the Northeast,” said Maggie Howell, Wolf Conservation Center director and coordinator of the Coalition. “The Northeast Wolf Coalition is working together using the most current peer reviewed science to raise awareness and increase public understanding about wolves. A broad base of public support is necessary for wolves to recover and we remain committed to ensuring that stakeholders become active stewards in that regard. There are biological, economic and ethical reasons to facilitate wolf recovery and the Coalition is eager to work with area residents, organizations, and state and federal agencies to promote the wolf’s natural return to our region.”

The Wolf Conservation Center is honored to be among the participating organizations in the Northeast Wolf Coalition and also a fiscal sponsor. Please consider supporting the Coalition by purchasing a Northeast Wolf Coalition sweatshirt! All proceeds will be used solely for the Coalition's work.

To purchase a sweatshirt to support the Coalition’s work, please click here.

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A Wilder Northeast

9/30/2014

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The return of predators in the Northeast will reflect a more fully functional and wild ecosystem, with keystone species fulfilling a dynamic and evolving ecological function in the changing environments that comprise the region. We envision populations of wolves, bears and cougars in numbers that will allow them to re-establish their critical role in nature and ensure their long-term survival.

There are ecological, ethical, and economical reasons for facilitating recovery in the Northeast. We strive to ensure that all stakeholders become active and informed stewards in this mission. Thus, with the introduction of this video, we seek to build positive relationships with residents, organizations, state and federal agencies, and federal legislators in an effort to begin exploring the vital issues that directly impact the future of the wilds in the Northeast.

Thanks to the numerous supporters for the photographs used in this video.
Narrated by Brooks Fahy
Editing by Paul Garrett
Music composed by Tom Hedden
Photography by Diane Bentivegna , Larry Master, Jon Way, Maggie Howell and WCC supporters who contributed their photos to this campaign.

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Northeast Wolf Coalition: Our Vision For Wolf Recovery

Northeast Wolf Coalition Advocates for Wolf Recovery in New York

Wolf Conservation Center Offers New Curriculum, "Tracks to the Future"

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand sends letter to Secretary of Interior Sally Jewel supporting wolf recovery

Wolves at our door?

Walter Medwid: Time for Change in Managing Vermont's Wildlife

Northeast Wolf Coalition draws wildlife experts to Walden Woods

Center for Biological Diversity Report: Ample Room for Wolves in the Northeast

Support the Northeast Wolf Coalition in Style

A Wilder Northeast

Northeast
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