Get Outdoors - Destinations: Wolf Restoration to Yellowstone

Although wolf packs once roamed from the Arctic tundra to Mexico, they were regarded as dangerous predators, and gradual loss of habitat and deliberate extermination programs led to their demise throughout most of the United States.Northern Rocky Mountain wolves, a subspecies of the gray wolf (Canis lupus), were native to Yellowstone when the park was established in 1872. Predator control was practiced here in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Between 1914 and 1926, at least 136 wolves were killed in the park. By 1926 when the National Park Service ended its predator control efforts, there were no gray wolf (Canis lupus) packs left in Yellowstone National Park. In the decades that followed, the importance of the wolf as part of a naturally functioning ecosystem came to be better understood, and the gray wolf was eventually listed as an endangered species in all of its traditional range except Alaska.

By the 1970s, scientists found no evidence of a wolf population in Yellowstone; wolves persisted in the lower 48 states only in northern Minnesota and on Isle Royale in Michigan. An occasional wolf likely wandered into the Yellowstone area; however, no verifiable evidence of a breeding pair of wolves existed through the mid 1990s.The Plan.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1987 Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery Plan proposed reintroduction of an "experimental population" of wolves into Yellowstone. The goal of the wolf restoration program is to maintain at least 10 breeding wolf pairs in Greater Yellowstone as it is for each of the other 2 recovery areas in central Idaho and northwestern Montana. As of January 2000, about 116 wolves inhabit the Yellowstone ecosystem.

National Park Service (NPS) policy calls for restoring native species when: a) sufficient habitat exists to support a self-perpetuating population, b) management can prevent serious threats to outside interests, c) the restored subspecies most nearly resembles the extirpated subspecies, and d) extirpation resulted from human activities.

The Reintroduction.
In the autumn of 1995 at 3 sites in the Lamar Valley, park staff completed site planning, and archaeological and sensitive plant surveys. ,''1 acre was enclosed at each site for the temporary penning of the wolves - their soft release. For the 1996 release, one pen was relocated to Blacktail Plateau and another was constructed in the Firehole Valley in central Yellowstone. Subsequently pens have been relocated from Lamar to other areas in the park interior to facilitate releases into other geographic areas or the park or special circumstances that require the temporary penning of wolves.

USFWS and Canadian wildlife biologists captured wolves in Canada and released them in both recovery areas in 1995 and 1996. As planned, wolves of dispersal age (1-2 years old) were released in Idaho, while Yellowstone released pups of the year (7+ months old), together with one or more of the alpha pair (breeding adults). Young pups weigh about 75 lbs. and are less likely to have established a home range. The goal was to have 5-7 wolves from one social group together in each release pen.

Each wolf was radio-collared when captured in Canada. For about 8-10 weeks while temporarily penned, the wolves experienced minimal human contact. Approximately once each week, they were fed roadkills. They were guarded by rangers and other volunteers who minimized the amount of visual contact between wolves and humans. The pen sites and surrounding areas were closed and marked to prevent unauthorized entry. Biologists used radio-telemetry to check on the welfare of wolves.

Although concern was expressed about the wolves becoming habituated to humans or to the captive conditions, the temporary holding period was not long in the life of a wolf. In Alaska and Canada, wolves are seldom known to develop the habituated behaviors seen more commonly in grizzly bears. Wolves, while social among their own kind, typically avoid human contact. They are highly efficient predators with well-developed predatory instincts. Their social structre and pack behavior minimizes their need to scavenge food or garbage available from human sources. Compared to bears, whose diet is predominantly vegetarian, wolves have less specific habitat requirements. The wolves'' primary need is for prey, which is most likely to be elk, deer, and other ungulates in these recovery areas.The Success.
Yellowstone''s first 14 wolves bore 2 litters totalling nine pups. In 1996, four packs produced fourteen pups. After the wolves'' release in 1996, plans to transplant additional wolves were terminated due to reduced funding and due to the wolves'' unexpected early reproductive success. As of January 2000, about 116 wolves inhabit the Yellowstone ecosystem.

An estimated 20,000 park visitors have observed wolves since their return in 1995. The program''s visibility has resulted in opportunities to educate audiences about predator-prey relationships, endangered species restoration, and the importance of maintaining intact ecosystems. The program has also generated numerous partnerships with private groups and individuals who generously donated their time and money - critical in an era of reduced budgets and staff downsizing.

For both Idaho and Yellowstone, wolf population recovery is defined as having about 100 wolves, or, 10 breeding pairs, established in each area for 3 successive years. The goal to restore wolves and begin delisting them by, 2002 appears within reach. The return of the only species known to be missing from the world''s first national park for the past half-century has been a milestone in ecological restoration. It has not only restored the wildlife complement of greater Yellowstone; it has been a symbolic victory for conservationists who patiently and persistently reversed the once-dominant attitude against predators to one of acceptance. We believe that Aldo Leopold would be proud that so many humans have come to respect even these "killer creatures" with whom we share the Earth.

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