Wolf Coalition Urges US Fish and Wildlife Agency Not To Abandon Northeast Wolf Restoration

Defenders of Wildlife
Wednesday, 1 May 2002

A coalition of national, regional and local conservation organizations released a letter today to Secretary Gale Norton, U.S. Department of Interior, urging the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) not to abandon wolf restoration efforts in the northeastern U.S. According to members of the Coalition to Restore the Eastern Wolf (CREW), the FWS plans to rescind proposed wolf recovery efforts for this region as originally called for in last year's proposal to reclassify gray wolves under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

"By going back on its word to create an opportunity for wolf recovery in this region, the agency would be ignoring science, the law and public opinion," said Lisa Osborn, Defenders of Wildlife. During the public comment period for the proposal, almost 20,000 people voiced support for expanded wolf recovery. "The vast majority of voices weighing in on this issue feel that the wolf should be given a chance to return to its historical home in the Northeast," Osborn continued.

Despite adequate habitat, wolves have little chance of returning to the northeastern U.S. on their own because of highways and other human barriers blocking their immigration from Canada. The FWS had initially proposed undertaking a scientific recovery planning process to assess the feasibility of bringing wolves back to the Northeast. "The job of wolf recovery in this region will not be complete until wolves have reoccupied suitable habitat and once again fulfill their ecological role as a top predator in our forests," stated Paula MacKay of the Wildlands Project.

The eastern wolf once lived throughout the Northeast but had become extinct in this region by the late 1800s due to bounty hunting and habitat destruction. Although wolves are making a comeback across many areas of the U.S., they remain notably absent from the Northeastern landscape. Fortunately, suitable habitat and numerous species upon which the wolves depend, including moose, deer, and beaver, have made a dramatic comeback over the last century. In fact, scientific studies have shown that the North Woods of Maine, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont can support nearly 2,000 wolves.

Because of their essential role as a top predator in healthy ecosystems, the long-term recovery of self-sustaining wolf populations in the Northeast has been an important goal of the region's conservation community. In other regions of the country restored wolves help regulate their prey, such as deer and moose, and control other predators, such as coyotes. The presence of wolves also creates opportunities to stimulate new economic development opportunities in rural communities. "Without wolves, the Northeast is missing a critical link in the natural balance of life," said Kristin DeBoer, RESTORE: The North Woods.

Members of CREW have also joined with conservation groups nationwide to draw attention to the pending setbacks for wolf recovery in other regions of the country and urge the FWS to continue restoration efforts throughout the wolf's historical range.

For more information, or to contact Defenders of Wildlife, see their website at: www.defenders.org