Overview of Gray Wolf Reintroduction

            This blog will explore the issue of the reintroduction of the gray wolf (Canis lupus) to North America. I am starting out with a very minimal knowledge of the issue, so this first post will summarize the chapter concerning wolves from Cristina Eisenberg’s book, The Carnivore Way: Coexisting with and Conserving North America’s Predators¹. My summary will primarily focus on the history and current state of wolves in the United States.

            Three subspecies of gray wolves were found in North America originally: the Mexican gray wolf in the southern US and Mexico, the plains wolf, and the timber wolf in the northern US and Canada. Beginning in the 1880s until the 1970s, a policy of predator control led to the near extermination of wolves throughout the United States. In 1974, the Mexican gray wolf and the timber wolf were listed as endangered species by the Endangered Species Act (ESA); the plains wolf had become extinct in 1926. Two areas were designated for wolf reintroduction: the Northern Rocky Mountain Recovery Area (NRM), which included Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and parts of Oregon and Washington, and the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area (BRWRA), which included parts of New Mexico and Arizona. Since the plains wolf had become extinct by that time, the timber wolf was to be reintroduced in the NRM area and the Mexican gray wolf into the BRWRA area.

            Reintroduction of the timber wolf has been very successful. 66 wolves were captured in Canada and released into Yellowstone National Park and Idaho in 1995-96. The NRM population grew quickly and reached recovery goals (300 wolves and 30 breeding pairs) by 2002. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) proposed to delist NRM wolves from the ESA in 2007; in order to do so, it needed to first approve wolf management plans from the states of Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. A lawsuit was filed following this proposal and the court ruled that the USFWS had irresponsibly approved a sub-par wolf management plan from Wyoming. Later that year, the USFWS again proposed to delist NRM wolves, excluding those in Wyoming. It was refused because, under the ESA, a recovery area could not be delisted in parts but only as a whole. In 2011, a rider was added to an unrelated bill which delisted the entire NRM, regardless of the 2009 ruling; wolves have been hunted in all three states since.

            In the BRWRA, wolf reintroduction has not been as successful. The Mexican gray wolf had neared extinction in the wild and only 5 wolves were able to be captured. Several other captive wolves were certified as pure Mexican gray wolves and a breeding program was begun in 1977. In 1998, eleven wolves were released. Over the years, more captive-bred wolves have been released at various times to keep a stable population. Challenges that face the BRWRA wolf population include poaching, legal killing, and a smaller average litter size than that of NRM wolves. Legal killing of these wolves occurs under Section 10(j) of the Endangered Species Act, which allows removal of wolves which threaten humans and/or livestock. The BRWRA population was only 75 in 2012.

            In this chapter, Eisenberg also discusses the effect of wolves on local ecosystems and why reintroduction is important. The threat of predation effects the feeding habits of the wolves’ ungulate prey, which in turn effects the plants. In Yellowstone, for example, dense elk populations before reintroduction caused heavy browsing of woody plants such as aspens. With the reintroduction of wolves, the elk have changed their habits to become less stationary and more migratory and the aspens and shrubs have been able to grow taller and healthier. In turn, these plants are now able to offer habitats for other species.

            Despite the success of the NRM reintroduction, the future of wolves in this area is uncertain. Following the removal of ESA protection, 37% of the wolf population in Montana and Idaho was killed due to both legal and illegal hunting. Eisenberg points out that hunting of wolves may have large effect on their long-term population stability. Hunting disrupts the wolves’ pack structures; these packs may then split, resulting in much smaller packs made up of younger individuals. These younger packs are more likely to approach humans or hunt livestock rather than elk. In addition to disrupting the long-term viability of the wolf population, wolf hunting may have negative consequences for people as well. Since 2009, hunting has greatly reduced wolf viewability within Yellowstone. This in turn has caused a decline in tourism, which many small towns near the park rely on.

            Now that I have become familiar with the current state of wolves in North America, I plan to explore the issue more in depth with future posts.      

           

1. Eisenberg, Dr. Cristina. (2014). The carnivore way: Coexisting with and conserving North America’s predators.             Washington, D.C.: Island Press.