.:The Reintroduction of the wild Wolf to North America:.
Photo of Five Pockets. Washakie Wildernesss (c) Ralph Maughan
    This has been a very difficult section to write. Mainly because there is five years worth of data on the reintroduction efforts in Idaho, Montanna, and Yellowstone. I have finally decided to give just a brief overview, as an excellent, full account can be found in Ralph Maughan's Wolf Report. The last wild wolf in Yellowstone was killed in 1943, in the Owl Creek Mountains on the Wind River Indian Reservation. Fifty-two years later the reintroduction effort was begun.
After a decade's worth of debates, the first wolves for the reintroduction were captured in Canada in January, 1995. A total of 29 wolves, 14 bound for Yellowstone, 15 bound for Idaho. The Yellowstone-bound wolves were placed in three acclimation enclosures. Each was about an acre in size, and they were all located in, or near, the Lamar Valley in the northeast part of the Park. The three enclosures were the Rose Creek, Crystal Creek Bench, and Soda Butte enclosures.

The wolves were released from these enclosures after three months of acclimation. Each pack was named after the enclosure that had been their acclimation pen. So the three packs were named the Rose Creek Pack, Crystal Creek Pack, and Soda Butte Pack.

The process of holding the wolves together for three months, acquainting them with the locality, and giving them time to mate, was termed "soft release". In contrast the method used with the Idaho wolves, termed "hard release" was to free the wolves immediately upon reaching their release site. The Idaho wolves were released and were roaming inside the wilds of central Idaho by mid-January 1995. Release of the Yellowstone wolves did not begin until late March.

In Montana, wolves did not wait for people to act. In the early 1980s, a pack formed along the Montana/Canadian border, dubbed the Magic Pack. Soon wolves began to drift into Montana, establish packs, and long before the reintroductions to Idaho and Yellowstone there was a growing, naturally restored wolf population in northwestern Montana.

By 1995, the year wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone and central Idaho, there was an estimate of 87 wolves in northwest Montana. It seemed that wolf restoration (10 packs with pups for three years in a row) would come quickly to the Montana wolf recovery area.
Unfortunately, this was not to be. As of 1998 the population in Montana was declining, with only five reproducing packs identified.

Photo of famous #9 of the original Rose Creek Pack
    The reintroductions continued through 1995, and 1996. Then in 1997, spurred by the American Farm Bureau Federation's law suit, a court ruling stated the reintroductions as illegal. After that, no more wolves were reintroduced from outside, however, the packs already in the areas were dispersing, and forming new packs.

    Just last month, January 2000, the 10th Circuit Court in Denver ruled that the wolves, in danger of being removed from their home of the past five years, could stay.

This was, of course, wonderful news for the wolves, as well as wolf supporters, however, it was a shot in the head to the Farm Beureau. The same day the ruling came down, AFBF President, Dean Klickner, who filed for the removal of wolves originally, lost his job in an election.

At the present time, monitoing continues on all the collared wolves, and packs. Many have died along the way. Sadly several were kiled illegally, such as Wolf #10, and Wolf #28, one of the largest in the park. Even more sadly, many have been "legally" killed, by the same people who are meant to protect them.
If certain wolves prey on livestock more than twice, they are removed by lethal means. (It is interesting to note, the majority of the wolves killed for predation, when examined, showed severe tooth damage. It seems they had attempted to chew their way out of their acclimation pens.)
Of course, a great many also met with accidental and natural fatalities, generally involving large vehicles.

The latest news to date is that packs are dispersing, and we are looking forward to new pups from many packs this year.

.:Back:.