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Understandingthe ReclassificationControversy, page 4

AdirondackReintroductionDebate, page 8

Wolf Sighted inWildlife Corridors,page 11

3300 Bass Lake Road, #202Minneapolis, MN 55429-2518

A PUBL ICAT ION OF THE INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTERSUMMER 2001

NON-PROFIT ORG.

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To learn more about making a gift through this program, please contact Walter Medwid, Executive Director, International Wolf Center, 3300 Bass Lake Road, #202Minneapolis, MN 55429

763-560-7374wmedwid@wolf .org

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SP Cover.summer 01 4/20/01 8:51 AM

(Cyberspace that is)www.wolf.org

Explore the WebWhether searching for information on ourresident wolf pack or looking for details onwolves around the world, the InternationalWolf Center Web site has volumes ofinformation at the ready for you! With over700 pages of information there's bound to bean area of the site you haven't seen before.Find out about telemetry, discover how wolvesare viewed in Europe, take a virtual tour ofour Ely facility. Go exploring today!

Whether for fun or

study, check out our

home on the Web today!

Teaching the World About Wolves

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The International Wolf Center

invites you to visit our Wolf Den

store the next time you're in Ely.

Or if you just can't wait, stop at our

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you'll find a wide variety of gifts,

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with a special twist that's perfect

for the wolf fancier.

The Wolf Den Gift Store is located at the

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or on the web at: www.wolf.org

Visit the Wolf Den in person or on-line


This curriculum on wolves includes all you need for a comprehensive unit on the many aspects of wolves and the current controversies surrounding their survival includingteacher background information, interdisciplinary activities,assessment recommendations, and all student worksheetsand game pieces.

ATTENTION EDUCATORS

ÈActivities for varying subjects and grade levels 6 -12ÈOn-line interactive student workbookÈ Teacher supplement includes over 20

activities to boost student comprehensionÈ Teacher Workshops will be held in

various Minnesota locations during June in: Duluth, St. Paul, Mankato,Brainerd, and Bemidji. Call Carolyn at 218-365-4695, ext. 28 for specificdates and timesÈ Curriculum available after June 1 by

calling 218-365-4695 ext. 25

“ What people do notunderstand, they fear.

What they fear, they tend to destroy.”

–U N KNOWN

a new wolf curriculum

Do Something Really This Summer. Visit Us!The International Wolf Center in Ely, Minnesota. Plan your trip to wild wolf country now.

experience the 6,000-square foot Wolves and Humansexhibit learn more about wolves from naturalists onsite take treks through wolf habitat: tracking, hiking,howling or journey to an abandoned wolf den get toknow the Ambassador Pack of five wolves, includingarctic yearlings new Little Wolf children’s exhibit

See www.wolf.org for information and program schedules. Phone:1-800-ELY-WOLF, ext. 325

SUMMER HOURS:

MAY - JUNE 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily

JULY - AUGUST 9 a.m.-7 p.m. dailyNow you can visit longer hours in July and August!

WildTeaching the World About Wolves

Wal

ter

Med

wid

GREYWOLVES

GREYMATTER

SP Cover.summer 01 4/20/01 8:51 AM

2 As a Matter of Fact

3 From the Executive Director

14 International Wolf CenterNotes From Home

17 Tracking the Pack

18 Wolves of the World

23 Personal Encounter

25 News and Notes

26 Wild Kids

28 A Look Beyond

4Understanding theReclassificationControversySteve Grooms delves into a complexproposal to reclassify and delist graywolves in much of the United States.

S t e v e G r o o m s

Features

THE QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTER VOLUME 11, NO. 2 SUMMER 2001

8Gray Wolf Reintroduction inAdirondack Park A recent study deals with the question: Is itpossible to reintroduce the gray wolf into New York’s Adirondack Park? Wolf experts debate the answer.

J a y H u t c h i n s o n , D a v e M e c h

a n d P a u l P a q u e t

Departments

Inte

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Lynn

and

Don

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11Preserving Corridorsfor all SpeciesLloyd Dorsey examines wildlifecorridors along state highways andfinds himself eye to eye with a wolfusing these century old routes.

L l o y d D o r s e y

Shar

on H

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r

On The Cover“Wisp of Time” is an Al Agnew

watercolor. Agnew, who is a native of the Missouri Ozarks, is an ardent

supporter of the environment and hasraised over one million dollars to dateas the Official Artist for the NationalPark Service Wolf Recovery Project.

SP IntWolf.summer 01 4/20/01 9:21 AM Page 1

2 S u m m e r 2 0 0 1 w w w . w o l f . o r g

Publications DirectorMary OrtizMagazine CoordinatorAmy BowmanConsulting EditorAmy FarrarTechnical Editor L. David MechGraphic DesignerTricia Hull

International Wolf (1089-683X) ispublished quarterly and copyrighted,2001, by the International Wolf Center,3300 Bass Lake Rd, Minneapolis, MN55429, USA. e-mail: [email protected] rights reserved.

Publications agreement no. 1536338

Membership to the International WolfCenter includes a subscription toInternational Wolf magazine, free admissionto the Center, and discounts on programsand merchandise. • Lone Wolf member-ships are U.S. $30 • Wolf Pack $50 • Wolf Associate $100 • Wolf Sponsor $500 • Alpha Wolf $1000. Canada and othercountries, add U.S. $15 per year for airmail postage, $7 for surface postage.Contact the International Wolf Center,1396 Highway 169, Ely, MN 55731-8129,USA; e-mail: [email protected]; phone: 1-800-ELY-WOLF

International Wolf is a forum for airingfacts, ideas and attitudes about wolf-related issues. Articles and materialsprinted in International Wolf do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of theInternational Wolf Center or its board of directors.

International Wolf welcomes submissionsof personal adventures with wolves andwolf photographs (especially black andwhite). Prior to submission of other types of manuscripts, address queries to Mary Ortiz, publications director.

International Wolf is printed entirely with soy ink on recycled and recyclablepaper (text pages contain 20% post-consumer waste, cover paper contains 10% post-consumer waste). We encourageyou to recycle this magazine.

PHOTOS: Unless otherwise noted, orobvious from the caption or article text,photos are of captive wolves.

Who started the IsleRoyale wolf study?The late Dr. Durward L. Allen ofPurdue University initiated the project.His first graduate student there wasDave Mech. Mech was followed by Phil Shelton, Peter Jordan, MichaelWolfe, and Rolf Peterson. Peterson has conducted the study since Allenretired in the early 1970’s. ■

New Question

Is aerial hunting ofwolves legal in Alaska?

see wolves live while you sit at your desk

WOLF WWATCHThe live wolf camera from

the International Wolf Center

in Ely, Minnesota, USA

Accessthe Elusive

Accessthe Elusive

Observe the ambassador pack

as they roam and relax, interact and

play in the 1 1/4 acre enclosure. Link to

Wolf Watch from www.wolf.org


I n t e r n a t i o n a l W o l f S u m m e r 2 0 0 1 3

Evidence of wolf recovery in Oregon increased with the recent confirmationof a wolf shot late last year in the eastern part of the state, the third wolfrecently found there. Biologists speculate that a travel corridor from central

Idaho allowed the wolves to disperse to Oregon. Lloyd Dorsey’s timely article inthis issue speaks to the importance of these wildlife corridors.

On the opposite coast, the feasibility of wolf restoration in the Adirondack regionof upstate New York is a subject with differing views from prominent wolfresearchers. These views only hint at the depth of feelings of Adirondack Park

residents. Jay Hutchinson’s review of the feasibilitystudy provides a glimpse into some of the conflicts.

Shades of Isle Royale are evident in Neil Hutt’sstory about wolves on Wrangel Island, off the north-eastern coast of Russia. As plans developed for reintroduction on this remote Russian island, thewolves pulled a fast one on researchers (you’ll haveto read on to find out how!). On a note closer tohome, read about the fascinating sorting out of rankwithin our own newly expanded wolf pack as ourarctic pups approach their first birthday.

Steve Grooms’ article on the national reclassification of wolves captures the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposal and the different organizational perspectiveson the issue. Perhaps the one significant unknown is the stance that a newadministration will take on this issue, on wolf issues in general, and environmentalmatters as a whole.

A PACK MEMBER DISPERSES As you might imagine, the various operationsthat go into running an organization like the Wolf Center involve a host of packmembers each filling a distinctive niche. Regrettably, a loyal member of the Ely-based pack is about to disperse, but fortunately not very far.

Since 1996, Tim Cook has served as site administrator of our flagship interpre-tive center in northern Minnesota. Coming to the Wolf Center from a nature centerdirectorship, Tim became immersed in a host of building projects, two symposia,educational program expansions, three grant programs, working with media fromaround the world, the management of a resident pack of wolves, and the carefulmonitoring of budgets that have increased substantially during his tenure. He nowbecomes pastor of a local church and in so doing, follows a calling similar to theone that brought him to the nature center world years ago.

Tim has helped to grow the Center’s programs, its infrastructure, its relationshipto the community, and its visitor services. We thank him for his dedicated serviceand wish him and his growing family well as he turns his talents from managing the Ely pack to shepherding a new flock. ■

From the Executive Director

Read about

the fascinating

sorting out

of rank within

our own newly

expanded

wolf pack.

Walter Medwid

INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTER

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Nancy jo TubbsChair

Dr. L. David MechVice Chair

Dr. Rolf O. PetersonSecretary

Paul B. AndersonTreasurer

Dr. Larry D. Anderson

Phillip DeWitt

Thomas T. Dwight

Nancy Gibson

Helene Grimaud

Cornelia Hutt

Dr. Robert Laud

Mike Phillips

Dr. Robert Ream

Paul Schurke

Teri Williams

Pat Woodworth

MISSION

The International WolfCenter supports the

survival of the wolf aroundthe world by teaching

about its life, its associationswith other species and its

dynamic relationship to humans.

Educational services and informational

resources are available at:

1396 Highway 169Ely, MN 55731-8129, USA

1-800-ELY-WOLF1-218-365-4695

e-mail address:[email protected]

Web site: http://www.wolf.org



Ross

John

son

The proposal begins the process of returning wolf management to the control of state and tribal

Understanding theUnderstanding the

SP IntWolf.summer 01 4/25/01 12:27 PM Page 4

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)announced a proposal to reclassify anddelist gray wolves in much of the UnitedStates. The proposal is comprehensive,complicated and controversial. Its fate willhave major impacts on wolf management.

How significant is this development?From a historical perspective, reclassifica-tion represents the third great milepost in gray wolf restoration.

The first was the decision to protect graywolves as an endangered species under thefederal Endangered Species Act (ESA) of1973. That decision reversed centuries ofpersecution and began a concerted effort torestore gray wolf populations in some of thelower 48 states. Wolf management passedfrom states to the federal government, andwolves gained full protection as members ofan endangered species.

The second milepost was the decision toreintroduce wolves to the northern Rockies,specifically, wolves trapped in Canada andreleased into Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho, and to introduce captive-bred Mexican wolves into a recovery area in the Southwest. These reintroductionstook place in 1995, 1996 and 1998 under a special provision of the ESA that allowedfor more management flexibility (meaningsome wolves could be killed or moved ifthey proved troublesome).

The third milepost — the currentproposed reclassification —is essentially adeclaration by the FWS that wolf restorationhas succeeded well enough in the westernGreat Lakes and northern Rockies to allowwolves to be reclassified, going from the


b y S T E V E G R O O M S

In July of 2000,extremely protective status of endangered tothe less protective threatened status (joiningMinnesota wolves, already classified asthreatened). The change grants managersincreased flexibility to fine-tune managementby region rather than adhering to a singlenational policy. The proposal begins theprocess of returning wolf management to the control of state and tribal governments.

Other provisions of the reclassificationproposal include the following: ■ Wolves in northeastern states would be

classified as threatened, although there are no documented wolf populations inthe Northeast. The intent of that provisionis to favor wolf restoration in this regionby granting managers additional manage-ment flexibility.

■ Wolves in the Southwest, where restora-tion is proceeding slowly, would continueto be classified as endangered.

■ Wolves in the Northwest that are outsideYellowstone and central Idaho recoveryareas would lose full endangered statusand could be subjected to lethal manage-ment. This provision has implications forwolves dispersing out of Yellowstone,Idaho and Canada into such states asWashington, Oregon or Colorado.

■ Wolf restoration would continue in threegeographic areas and could be initiated inthe Northeast, but ESA protection wouldbe removed for wolves in all or portions of30 states where FWS managers believe thereis no realistic prospect for wolf restoration.

■ Gray wolves would be divided into fourDistinct Population Segments (DPS) topermit managers to fine-tune programsaccording to regional realities, rather thantrying to apply a single program to thespecies in different regions.

ReclassificationControversyReclassificationControversy

governments.


West Region

Southwest Region

■ Wolf numbers may not yet be high enough to provide themargin of safety needed to createa resilient and fully restoredpopulation in an optimumnumber of areas. ■ Some state wildlife manage-ment agencies remain so hostileto wolves that decades ofrestoration might be threatenedby returning wolf managementto them.

U.S. Fish and WildlifeService (FWS) Perspectives

FWS managers did not make theirproposal casually. They expectedopposition and a possible court chal-lenge, so they have scientific and legalsupport for the changes they propose.

The basic position of the FWS isthat its goals with respect to gray wolfrestoration can be achieved by estab-lishing three or four populationsacross the species’ historical range inthe United States. The success ofrestoration in two of those areas


Critics and Proponents Like most wolf management initia-

tives, this proposal has drawn critics.Like so many wolf controversies, it isalmost surely headed for the courtsystem. Several groups have declaredtheir intention to fight the FWSproposal in court. Accordingly, prob-ably no major change in the status of gray wolves will happen soon.

Who favors the proposal? Statewildlife agencies generally want tomanage wolves in their own territories,so they favor the proposed changebecause it moves in that direction.Livestock producers aren’t enthusiasticabout the proposal, because it offersless freedom for them to control depredating wolves than they wouldprefer, yet most of them regard it as a step in the right direction.

Who opposes this proposal? Inpublic meetings on the proposal,virtually all opposition came fromenvironmental and wolf advocacygroups. These groups have beenpleased with the progress made onwolf restoration under ESA protectionand federal management. They fearand disapprove of the proposedchanges for several reasons.

In public hearings, wolf advocatesmade it clear that they want morewolves in more places under thegreatest protection the ESA can offer.Some wolf advocates believe state fish

An informational meeting was

held at the Northern Great

Lakes Center in Ashland,

Wisconsin on August 17, 2000

to discuss wolf reclassification.

In attendance were (from left

to right): Tom Doolittle,

biologist, Bad River Band;

Ron Refsnider, biologist,

USFWS; Peter David,

biologist, Great Lakes Indian

Fish and Wildlife Commission;

Erv Soulier, Manager, Bad

River DNR; and John Leonard,

Region 3 Native American

Liaison, USFWS.

Kim

Mitc

hell

and game agencies in the West cannotbe trusted to manage wolves, becausethey are vulnerable to pressures fromhunters and livestock producers.

While critics of the reclassificationproposal have many arguments, theirlegal challenge will concentrate onways they believe this reclassificationmeasure would fall short of meetingthe ESA’s requirements.

Critics feel this reclassificationaction is premature, because of thefollowing beliefs: ■ Much suitable wolf habitat is still

available and might not ever becomeoccupied if wolves are reclassifiedas proposed.

■ The FWS redefined its populationgoals in the northern Rockies twoyears ago in ways that critics thinkare insufficiently ambitious andpossibly not legal.

■ The decision to reclassify wolves atthis time probablymeans wolves are less likely tobe reintroducedinto the North-east, the OlympicP e n i n s u l a o fWashington, andother areas wherewolf advocateshope to see themestablished.

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Great Lakes Region

Northeast Region

(Western Great Lakes and UpperRockies) is sufficient to both allowand oblige the FWS to considerreclassifying gray wolves.

In addition, FWS managersdefend the reclassification proposalwith the following points: ■ The goal of the ESA is to prevent

the extinction of individual species,not to restore biological communities or restore a species to all of itsremaining suitable habitat. The ESAis not a national biodiversity act,even if it can promote that or otherdesirable conservation outcomes.The goals of recovery plans areintentionally designed to accomplishnarrow, specific outcomes.

■ The reason for putting a species onthe ESA list is to restore its healthso it can be taken off the list again;the status is not meant to offerpermanent federal protection.

■ The ESA requires FWS managers tobase classifications on scientificfact; when a species is no longerendangered or threatened, itslisting should reflect its true status.

■ The ESA allows the FWS to“fine-tune” status designationsaccording to regional groupings.The intention is to encourage

management flexibilitythat accurately reflectsthe health of a speciesthat might be morethreatened in oneregion than in another. The ESA also requires

federal managers to returnspecies management tothe state or tribal agenciesthat would normallymanage them when theirstatus no longer requiresthe intensive federalmanagement protocols of the ESA.

The football gameand the ICU

A critic of the proposalcompared wolf restora-tion to a football game inwhich FWS plays a goodgame for two quarters so that the home teamenjoys a good lead but,with two quarters left togo, wants to declare a victory andsend in the scrubs to finish the game.

However, Ed Bangs, Wolf RecoveryCoordinator for the Northwestern USsees it this way; According to Bangs,

“The ESA is like the IntensiveCare Unit (ICU) of a hospitalwhere you try to save the life of a species that is in imminentperil of extinction. If thepatient makes progress towardhealth, it makes sense to

move the patient outof ICU so you candevote your resources


to all the other species that deserveand need that kind of urgent care.”

Federal managers think the timehas come to recognize the greatprogress that has been made. Criticsbelieve too much remains to be doneto say that the conditions of the ESAhave been met sufficiently to allowthis reclassification. In the months to come, political and legal contestswill define more precisely what the FWS must do to satisfy therequirements of the ESA with respectto gray wolf restoration. ■

Steve Grooms has been writing aboutwolf management since 1976. He isthe author of a book, The Return of theWolf, and an International Wolf Centereducational pamphlet on reclassifyingand declassifying issues in Minnesota,“The Gray Wolf In Minnesota: WhereDo We Stand?”

The maps at left representthe four proposed distinctpopulation segments forwolf reclassification.

www.more information on the web

ww

w.

This article provides a broad outline of thereclassification controversy. It is not possible

here to summarize all the complications andnuances of biological and legal positions on thisissue. Additional information can be found onthe Internet Web sites listed below:

■ For FWS perspective on wolf reclassification,see: “Questions and Answers About theProposal to Reclassify/Delist the Gray Wolf,”at: http://Midwest.fws.gov/wolf.

■ For a critique of these issues, see the Defenders of Wildl i fe Web s i te , a t :http://www.defenders.org. Go to the “WildlifeNear You” and their “Wildlife At Risk” areasonce you get to the site.

■ For a slightly different perspective from the National Wildlife Federation, see:http://www.nwf.org.

■ For an informational pamphlet by theInternational Wolf Center, “The Gray Wolf in Minnesota, Where Do We Stand?”, see:http://www.wolf.org/learn/iwmag/1999/infobook/infobook.shtml.


Mech ChallengesStudy’s PessimisticOutlook

Reacting to the feasibility study, Dave Mechof the Biological Resources Division, U.S.

Geological Survey, disagreed with some of the study’s key conclusions. Mech was raisednear the Adirondacks and worked there forfour summers.

“I certainly agree there are enough prey in the Adirondacks to support wolves,”

stated Mech. “And thereare suff ic ient highquality wilderness areasthere for wolves. WhatI disagree with is thecontention that wolvescannot persist for 100years in the Adirondacksand the implication,then, of ‘why bother?’”

Mech explained,“Even 50 years would

be a long time to have so interesting ananimal as the wolf around.” He pointed outthat a totally inbred population of wolves haspersisted on Isle Royale’s 210 square miles for50 years and is still going strong, proving howadaptable and resilient even small, highlyinbred wolf populations can be. “In addition,if inbreeding were to become a problem inAdirondack wolves, that is easily solved,” hesaid. “An artificial infusion of two or threewolves from Canada every 5-10 years shouldsuffice to overcome it.”

“All in all, I am not convinced that theissues raised in the feasibility study warrant apessimistic outlook for wolf restoration tothe Adirondacks,” he said. He said he doesagree that the true identity of wolves thatformerly inhabited the area must be deter-mined first. “And, as I have cautioned manytimes, New York State must be prepared tocontrol the surplus wolves that are sure todisperse from the Adirondacks,” said Mech.

Dave Mech is a Senior Research Scientist forthe Biological Resources Division, U.S.Geological Survey, an Adjunct Professor at theUniversity of Minnesota in St. Paul, and aboard member of the International Wolf Center.

b y J A Y H U T C H I N S O N

GrayWolf ReintroductioninAdirondack

Park? Experts Disagree on

Feasibility Study’s Findings


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Paquet Reaffirmshis Conclusion:AdirondacksCannot SustainWolves

Paul Paquet commented that froman ecological perspective, wolves

have persisted on Isle Royale for onlya very short time. “Given the perils of small populations, the probability of these wolvessurviving intot h e n e x tcentury is verylow,” he said.“Moreover, wedoubt seriouslyt h i s s m a l l population ofwolves wouldhave enduredin the presenceof the lethalhuman activities that occur in theAdirondacks.”

Paquet said that in human dominated landscapes, roads,hunting, off-road vehicles, industrialforestry, urban development anddisease all contribute to the death ofwolves. “Lacking a reliable supply of new wolves, small and isolatedpopulations cannot sustain thecombined mortalities that result. As noted in the Adirondack report, we believe the goal of any wolf reintroduction is to establish wolvespermanently without depending on artificial augmentation of thepopulation,” he said.

Dr. Paul Paquet is the Senior Ecologistwith Conservation Science, Inc. He isan internationally recognized authorityon mammalian carnivores, especiallywolves, with research experience inseveral regions of the world.

The following article is a summary of a report, “Gray Wolf

Reintroduction Feasibility in Adirondack Park” prepared

by consultants Paul C. Paquet, James R. Strittholt, and

Nancy L. Staus of the Conservation Biology Institute for

the Adirondack Citizens Advisory Committee on the feasibility

of wolf reintroduction. A reaction to the report by wolf experts at

the International Wolf Center’s Beyond 2000 Symposium last

February is also included.

With the successful reintroduction of wolves in parts of the U.S., interest has increased among wolf advocates in the possibility of returning the wolf to

the Adirondack Park in northern New York State. The last wolfin the Adirondacks was killed in 1893.

At six million acres, the Adirondacks constitute the largest“park” in the contiguous United States; however only 42percent (2.6 million acres) is publicly owned by the state andprotected by the state constitution as “forest preserve” and“forever wild”. The rest is privately owned, devoted mainly to forestry, open-space recreation, and agriculture.

In October of 1999, the Conservation Biology Instituteconducted a study to assess the potential of Adirondack Park to support reintroduced gray wolves. Their method was to useearlier published data to create models with current physical,biological, and cultural data in a mapping system (called aGeographic Information System) to identify geographic areaswith a high biological capacity to support wolves, probable wolf travel routes, areas with few people, and areas where peoplemight conflict with wolves. A number of areas where wolveswould be exposed to humans were also mapped.

The main conclusion of the study is that while AdirondackPark has sufficient habitat to support a small population of


Wal

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Left: Adirondack Park includes six million acresof land where there are enough deer, moose, andbeaver to sustain a wolf population, according to a study by Paul Paquet and colleagues.

J. H

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wolves for perhaps 50 years, it could not supportone for 100. Surprisingly, the study also suggeststhat it might even be inappropriate to introducegray wolves, based on a recent separate geneticstudy.

According to the genetic study, the lastAdirondack wolf killed in 1893 may have beensimilar to the smaller eastern wolf now inhabitingsoutheastern Canada. If the gray wolf was neverpresent or existed in low numbers, the reportconcludes, it would be inappropriate to introducegray wolves. Instead, the recommendation wouldbe to reintroduce the eastern Canadian wolf basedon the present knowledge of the genetic data, ifwolves are to be reintroduced at all.

Some of the report’s major findings include thefollowing:– There are enough deer, moose, and beaver asprey to sustain wolves in the park.– Remote areas and other high quality habitats inthe park are adequate to maintain a small popula-tion of wolves.– Adirondack Park is highly fragmented, so wolvesmight not be able to gain access to some securehabitats, because of human activities and devel-opments.

Let us know what YOU think!Please send comments and/or letters to International Wolf Center,

c/o Magazine Coordinator, 3300 Bass Lake Road, #202, Minneapolis, MN 55429 or email [email protected].


Dw

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Some peoplequestion whetherthe gray wolfever existed inthe Adirondacksor whether thewolf that did wasreally a newlyproposed species,the eastern wolf.

– Corridors connecting high quality habitats withinthe Adirondacks are secure enough that wolf packs can move about freely; however, the tenuouslinkages to areas outside the Adirondacks and thegreat distance wolves would have to travel to reachother gray wolf populations cannot maintain wolvesover long periods.– The densities of paved roads and railways withinpotential wolf range are within acceptable limits.– Denning areas are adequate and could beprotected by restricted entry zones.– If gray wolves are reintroduced, the initial population will need to be augmented annually to help offset annual mortality rates, which couldexceed 30 percent.– Higher human and road densities outsideAdirondack Park threaten wider geographicaldistribution and the sustainability of wolf populations.– P re s e n t h i g h w a y s p e e d l i m i t s c o u l dadversely affect introduced wolves during reestablishment. ■

Jay Hutchinson is retired from the North CentralForest Experiment Station of the U.S. Forest Service.He is interested in natural history subjects and haswritten past articles for International Wolf magazine.


b y L L O Y D D O R S E Y

Wildlife migration corridors are critical to the health o f a n e c o s y s t e m , a n d

when humans allow wildlife to moveacross the landscape as natureintended, it can bring exciting results.This concept was brought home tome recently as I drove on state high-ways across Wyoming, from JacksonHole to Laramie. Leaving in the earlyhours of darkness from my home nearJackson, I knew enough to be carefuldriving because of deer, elk, andpronghorn antelope moving fromtheir high country summer and fallranges to their ancestral winteringgrounds in the lower basins.

In the past two years, theWyoming Wildlife Federation hasdeveloped a program, Restoring WildPatterns, designed specifically

A version of the following

article appeared in

the fall, 2000

“Legacy Council Update”

newsletter of the

Wyoming Wildlife

Federation.

a round the p ro tec t ion o f the migratory behavior of wildlife. Theprogram facilitates a variety of activities to protect wildlife corridors,from advocating and lobbying effortsto research. These include compilingdatabases to identify fences that needto be removed or modified to expeditewildlife movements, creating landeasements, and constructing functionalwildlife crossings.

As one of the federation’s fieldoffice representatives, in the earlymorning hours, I stopped my caralongside the highway at “TrappersPoint” just west of the small town ofPinedale and near the junction of acounty crossroads. I intended tocheck the fresh snow for tracks ofmule deer and pronghorn to see ifthey were using the underpass built


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by the Department of Transportation(DOT) below the roadway to bypassthe fences and pavement.

I walked behind my car andpeered over the guardrail, but onlytracks of coyotes and rabbits could beseen in the snow at the bottom of theunderpass. There were, however,cloven-hoofed tracks evident in thesnow crossing the highway beforeand after the underpass. It wouldseem that the DOT’s idea of helpingthe deer and pronghorn get safelyacross a well-traveled road hadn’tbeen effective here.

This area, a natural geographicbottleneck sandwiched between theGreen and New Fork Rivers, is a

renowned migration route for prong-horn and mule deer. According toarchaeological evidence, it has beenso fo r nea r l y 6 ,000 yea r s .Unfortunately, besides the obviousperil to critters from vehicle collisions, this narrow bottleneck isbeing threatened by residential development along the highway,constricting it even further.

This area is a critical spot in thefederation’s program to protectmigration routes, and along withseveral other interested groups, weare currently exploring variousprotection measures. This geographiccorridor is one of the last few intactthreads that enable wildlife to getfrom the Upper Green, Hoback, andGros Ventre River drainages down tothe windswept winter ranges in thesage covered Green River Basin.

After checking for the tracks, I gotback in my car and drove slowly eastalmost a mile toward Pinedale, whena movement caught my eye. Off tomy right on a sagebrush hill (knownlocally as The Mesa), I thought I saw the shape of a sizable darkanimal loping down the slope formaybe 150 yards. It seemed possibleit might intersect me as I cruisedalong. I slowed my car, watching indisbelief, and about 60 yards ahead of me, a charcoal colored wolfcrossed the highway. The wolf hadcome off the hill and through thebarbed wire fence, and then slowedas it encountered the pavement.

I stopped my car right in thetraffic lane, barely able to imaginewhat I was seeing. After all, this wasnearly 80 miles from Jackson Hole,and well over a hundred fromYellowstone Park. The wolf slowed toa walk and looked deliberately in my

80

25

25

90 YELLOWSTONE NP

GRAND TETON NP

FOSSIL BUTTE NM

Casper

Rock SpringsCheyenne

W y o m i n g

The migration corridornear Pinedale links theJackson Hole country withthe Little Colorado andRed Deserts of southwestand southcentralWyoming, allowinganimals to travel safelyacross the landscape.

The Wyoming Wildlife

Federation has

developed a program,

Restoring Wild Patterns,

designed specifically

around the protection

of the migratory

behavior of wildlife

MIG

RAT IO

NRO

UTE

Trappers Point

Daniel Junction

Wolf Sighting

Green

RiverN

ew Fork

River

189

189

191

191

Bridger-TetonNational Forest

YellowstoneNat'l Park


direction, then sped up, easily slidingunder the wire fence on the otherside of the road. It continued,bounding over the sagebrush, snowflying from its paws, disappearingover a rise maybe 20 yards beyondthe fence.

What had I just witnessed? I wasstunned as I sat in my little car,engine still running, no other trafficcoming either way. Was it actually a wild wolf running the same migration corridor used for centuriesby prey species? That this small spoton a map, discussed as a “wildlifecorridor” many times in countlessmeetings, had just catapulted inecological significance, was anunderstatement.

I grabbed my binoculars, quicklyparked my vehicle, hopped out andran across the road, and duckedthrough the same fence crossedseconds earlier by the wolf. I marvelnow at the apparent ease with which Inegotiated tightly strung barbed wire.

I ran the short distance to the topof the rise, expecting at best to see thewolf running far away. Instead, whenI topped the rise, the wolf stood about25-30 yards below, looking right atme. Our eyes locked for several heart-beats. It was a healthy, wonderfullywild looking animal, maybe a hundredpounds; sleek, nearly black to a darkgray on its face and belly. After severalseconds (and winning the intimidationcontest) the wolf turned and ranthrough the fresh snow north. Itslowed down after maybe a hundredor so yards, glanced back a coupletimes to see what I was up to, andthen began to steadily lope off withthat tireless long-legged, ground-eating gait of a wolf.

I watched the wolf for a couple of

minutes through my binoculars, thenmade it back to my car and continuedmy drive, feeling remarkably lucky. IfI had not stopped to check tracks atthe underpass, I’d have missed thewolf for sure! It also proved that ourRestoring Wild Patterns programdoes protect animals (including largepredators) that use the same migra-tion corridors their ancestors used,but only if the corridors are protected.

Later, I called a friend in the Gameand Fish Department, and heconfirmed that in the past few weeks,a dark wolf had been seen not too faraway near the community of Cora.

There is still a vast expanse ofpublicly owned land in the lowerportion of the Green River basinwhere the pronghorn and mule deersurvive the harsh winter. The migration corridor near Pinedale

links the Jackson Hole country withthe Little Colorado and Red Desertsof the southwest and southcentralWyoming. Its protection is crucial.

Some of the basin is being drilledand mined to satisfy our insatiabledemand for energy, and much of it is grazed by domestic livestock. TheWyoming Wildlife Federation willwork to ensure that even thoughthese lands are used for multiplepurposes, some of those uses mustaccommodate the native species ofwildlife we all enjoy, including theones that can stare a hole rightthrough you. ■

Lloyd Dorsey is a field office representative in Jackson Hole for the Wyoming Wildlife Federation. He has lived in the GreaterYellowstone ecosystem for 25 yearsand is an avid hunter and backpacker.


Willi

am R

ideg

, Kish

eneh

n W

ildlif

e W

orks

Wolves use the samemigration corridors trav-eled for centuries by preyspecies such as deer, elkand pronghorn antelope.

Lynn

and

Don

na R

oger

s

Paw prints are evidence thatanimals such as coyotes, rabbits,deer and wolves roam the corridors.


Live Wolves Visit the Science Museumof Minnesota

As part of our educationaloutreach, the International

Wolf Center presented severallive wolf programs at the ScienceMuseum of Minnesota in SaintPaul, MN last year and this year.At these programs, people sawlive arctic wolves as educatorsNancy Gibson and Amy KayKerber discussed wolf biologyand behavior.

Audience members, many ofwhom were children experi-encing wolves for the first time,asked many questions that wereaddressed, including, “What dowolves eat?”, and “What willhappen to wolves if they’reremoved from the endangeredspecies list?”

The Center will continuereaching out to the public in newand varied educational venues.


By Memorial Day, 2001, visitors to theInternational Wolf Center in Ely, MN

will be enjoying a new interactive exhibitthat will be especially appealing for chil-dren ages 3–9. Created in collaborationbetween International Wolf Center staffand the Science Museum of Minnesota,the exhibit leads visitors on a journeythrough the seasons, with a wolf pupmoving through its first year of life.

The journey begins in spring with avisit to a wolf den that children can crawlinto, moves on to a summer rendezvoussite, and then to the hunt in fall andwinter. Along the way, visitors will be ableto take part in activities that enhancetheir learning, such as the wolf bodyposture wall at the rendezvous site. Here,visitors will be able to see themselves inlarge mirrors as they mimic the bodypositions of wolves portrayed on a muralbehind them. Other hands-on activities

include a shadow puppet wall, where thehunt can be acted out, and a weighstation, where visitors can compare theweight of a wolf’s meal to the volume theywould have to eat if they were a wolf.

According to Information andEducation Director Andrea Lorek Strauss,this exhibit opens up new volunteeropportunities at the Center. “We will beencouraging volunteers to act as docentsfor this new exhibit. Docents will helpengage visitors in the exhibit’s interactiveelements and lead activities in the newexhibit area.” Interested people areencouraged to contact the InternationalWolf Center in Ely at 218-365-4695, ext. 33to learn more about this opportunity.

The new exhibit, which is included inthe admission, is a valuable addition tothe International Wolf Center and bringsyet another element of education and funto the experience of a visit.


Notes From Home

Visitors to our Ely facilitythis summer can lookforward to a full slate offamily programming andcraft projects.

Wolf educator AmyKay Kerber sharesinformation aboutarctic wolves with audiences at theScience Museum of Minnesota onNovember 18, 2000.

Interactive Exhibit Opens This Summer

Inte

rnat

iona

l Wol

f Cen

ter

Keith

Dou

cette



Independent FoundationSupports Wolf Care Program

The International Wolf Center received a generous grantfrom the Twin Spruce Foundation in the fall of 2000.

The proceeds will be used for the care of the wolves at theCenter in Ely.

A private citizen and animal lover created the foundationlast year. All of the foundation's leaders have been involvedin animal care for years, either on an individual basis orthrough organizations and businesses.

Jody Rosengarten, a director of the foundation, has beenactive in wolf organizations for many years. The TwinSpruce grant began taking shape after several discussionsRosengarten had with International Wolf Center AssociateDirector Mary Ortiz and Executive Director Walter Medwidduring the organization's Beyond 2000 Symposium inFebruary, 2000. According to Rosengarten, Twin Spruce is"primarily, though not exclusively, interested in fundingorganizations that work toward enhancing the quality ofanimal life." They also fund organizations such as theInternational Wolf Center that work toward educatingpeople about wolves and other animals.

Planning and preparationfor a new carnivore

information center (CIC),much like the InternationalWo l f C e n t e r i n E l y,Minnesota, is underway inJärvsö, Sweden. That ’sbecause Mats and KarinEricson, owners of a natureinformat ion bus iness ,TAIGA Nature and Photo,agreed to help build the CIC after several visits toEly inspired them. TheEricsons will collaboratewith the World WildlifeFund, the HuntersOrganization, theNature Conser-vative Organiza-tion, the SamisO rg a n i z a t i o n , and carnivoreresearchers tocreate the center.

The proposedcenter will belocated in Järvsö,a small city innorthern Sweden, and willbe next to one of thecountry’s most popularzoos, Järvzoo. Animals suchas wolves, bears, lynxes,and prey species such asmusk-oxen and reindeer atthe nearby zoo will allowaccess to the animalsstudied at the CIC.

Mats, a zoologist and VicePresident of the SwedishCarnivore Association, saysthe most important goal ofthe proposed carnivorecenter is to debunk myths by “presenting objectiveand proper informationabout large carnivores.”This includes informingthem of problems that existbetween carnivores anddomestic animals.

He also wants the CIC tobe a place for kids to learnmore about the animals.

The center will work withschools, presenting slideshows and talks by scien-tists, nature photographers,and other specialists. Thepilot study for the center isfinished, and ways tofinance the project are beingdiscussed. ■

Funds from the Twin Spruce Foundation go toward food and medicalcare for the wolves at the International Wolf Center in Ely.

Swedish Center Will EducateVisitors About Carnivores

Inte

rnat

iona

l Wol

f Cen

ter

Karin

and

Mat

s Er

icso

n

Mats and Karin Ericson



Major Donors

Al and Mary Agnew

John Anderson

Dr. Larry Anderson

Dr. and Mrs. Ford W. Bell

The Casey Albert T. O’NeilFoundation

Catherine Brown

M.C. Davis

David and Vanessa Dayton

Jud and Lisa Dayton

Wallace and Mary Lee Dayton

Phillip DeWitt

John Doran and Susan Fisher

Thomas Dwight

Lynn Eberly

Pamela Elifritz

Caroline Gabel

Carol Geis

Nancy Gibson and Ron Sternal

Robert Goldman

Frances Graham

Robert Halley

The Harold W. SweattFoundation

F.B. Hubachek

Kurt Indermaur andJennifer Timmers

Chuck and Nancy Kail

The Kilner Foundation

Richard Koch

Virginia Kozak

Terrence Kreczko

Pam Kriegh

Bruce Lutz

Dr. L. David Mech

Dan Middaugh

Dorothy Moller

Eric Moore

Carolyn Oyer

Wendy Sommer

Jeff, Shannon and Jonathan Stehman

Sue Sylvester

Janice Thompson

Joseph and Cynthia Urbano

Peter Vukovich

Nicholas and Jo Ann Wargo

Cynthia Wayburn

George and Mary Whitney

Joseph and Shirley Wolf

Honorary In Honor of Stuart Goodall

Dody Nesbit

In Honor of Marvin LeBow

Dody Nesbit

In Honor of Jeff and Barb Sweet

Tracy Lewis

MemorialsIn Memory of Linita Borchers

Sue Sylvester

In Memory of Kiana

Lois Steffes

In Memory of Charles Schusterman

Dody Nesbit

In Memory of John Williams

Sue Sylvester

Matching GiftsAid Association for Lutherans

CNA Foundation

General Mills Foundation

GMAC - RFC

Pfizer Corporation

US Bancorp


Contributors

For 18 Years, America’s Top Dogsled Trips ProgramDirected by Arctic Adventurer Paul Schurke

For info: (218) 365-6602For color brochure: 1-800-584-9425

Dogsled Lodge 1101 Ring Rock Road • Ely, MN 55731

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Donations needed for veterinary care

The International Wolf Center isseeking donations for the medical

exams of our ambassador wolf pack,including extensive blood work to

analyze physical condition and tests to determine the cause of

pigmentation loss on Lucas’ noseand a small growth on Mackenzie’s

lower abdomen. Contributions will go towards the exams and

associated on-going medical care.

Please contact our Development Director,George Knotek (763-560-7374)

or send your contribution to him at3300 Bass Lake Road, Mpls., MN 55429.

Contributors giving $25.00 or more will receive a copy of the wolves’

medical exams and acknowledgementin a future issue of International Wolf.


then Lakota retreated to the den.

Despite her new status,Lakota is doing well. Shehas been seen payinghomage to the alphas and toShadow by licking theirfaces. This indicates shefeels a part of the socialstructure.

To Lakota, this is justanother view from thebottom of the social rankorder. To the Center staff, i t is an opportunity toeducate visitors about thedynamics of wolf socialpack interaction.

If you are interested infollowing the weekly high-lights of the pack dynamics,see the “Notes from the WolfLog” section on our Website, at www.wolf.org. ■

Tracking the Pack

A View From the Bottomof Wolf Pack Hierarchy

As scientific research hastaught us, wolves main-

tain pack harmony by theirrank order. The order of apack is usually genderspecific (females dominatelower ranking females,males dominate lowerranking males). At the top of the rank order is the alphamale and female (whodominate both sexes), but at the bottom is a positionsome scientists call theomega or “scapegoat”(dominated by all the packmembers). Either a male or female wolf may occupythis posit ion. At theInternational Wolf Center,the omega is clearly Lakota.

Since the Arcticpups were introducedt o t h e C e n t e r ’s ambassador pack inAugust 2000, thedynamics of the wolfdominance hierarchyhas changed (and itmay change again asthe pups mature).Shadow and Malikhave been takingevery opportunity toclimb social rankorder. Shadow is


Lakota, the pack’s omega wolf, bears her teeth in defense of a pack mobbing.

Sher

ry J

okin

en

becoming f a rmore intense in hisclimb for rank order,and he has become moreaggressive in mobbingLakota. This is natural wolfbehavior that may ensure an individual’s survival inthe wild, but makes wolvesin captivity a challenge.

What’s life like for thebottom of the rank order?For Lakota, the most notice-able aspect is her restrictedmovement in the enclosure.Any time she strays from thelower part of the enclosure,she may be driven to the denfor refuge. In the early daysof the pups’ introduction tothe pack, Mackenzie and

Lucas led thec h a s e o nLakota witht h e p u p sf o l l o w i n g .

As the pupsm a t u r e d ,

Shadow often ledthe chase wi th a

complete ly erect ta i l , indicating his increasingdominance.

Another reality of omegalife is that access to food mayhave to wait until the higher-ranking pack members aref in i shed f eed ing . J enWestlund, a wolf care staffmember, noted that Shadowbegan biting Lakota whenshe approached the carcasshe and Malik were eating,and then the other wolvesmobbed Lakota. Shadowdragged Lakota by her tail,


“Wrangel Island is the Krakatoa of wolf research.Just as researchers had an unprecedented

opportunity to observe life returning to Krakatoaafter the volcano erupted, so they have a uniqueopportunity to observe a natural phenomenon

here—the return of the wolf to this arctic Eden.”

—Paul Schurke, Wintergreen Adventures, Ely, Minnesota

Imagine a category called“Remote Destinations” on

the television quiz program“Jeopardy”. Inside one of theboxes is the answer: “Thisextraordinary eco-system100 miles off the north-eastern coast of Siberiac o n t a i n s t h e h i g h e s t diversity of plants andanimals in the entire higharctic region.” Chances are, the contestants wouldexchange befuddled glancesas the show’s host intones, “The question is: What isWrangel Island?”

Wrangel Island StateNature Reserve, establishedin 1976, includes not onlythe 1,800 square mile islanditself, but also an expanse ofsea extending 40 miles fromshore. It is the largest arcticmarine nature reserve in the world. Russian biologistNikita Ovsyanikov, polarbear researcher and memberof the World ConservationUnion’s Wolf SpecialistGroup, has spent more than20 years conducting researchon this remote and strictlyprotected refuge with itsqua int p lace names–Cape Blossom, Doubtful Spitand Unexpected River.According to Ovsyanikov,when Wrangel Island wasdiscovered and colonized,no large ungulates and nopredators lived there exceptpolar bears, which came tohibernate and scout alongthe beaches in autumn.

The first permanenthuman settlement onWrangel Island was estab-lished in 1926. Intending to develop the island and to exploit its biologicalresources, Russia trans-ported a few reindeer byship from the mainland in1948. More of these animalswere released in 1952.Musk oxen were later intro-duced in 1975, and underRussia’s strict protectionlaws, both ungulate specieshave survived. The reindeerherds increased rapidly, and after an initial periodduring which their survivalchances looked doubtful,the musk oxen, too, beganto thrive.

Wrangel Island is alsohome to bearded and ringed

W O LV E S O N W R A N G E L I S L A N D

Discovery Indicates Potentialfor Wolf Recovery

b y N e i l H u t t


Illustr

atio

n by

Joa

n O

uelle

tte


R u s s i a Alaska

C a n a d a

United StatesC h i n a

I n t e r n a t i o n a l W o l f S p r i n g 2 0 0 1 19

seals, walruses, gray whales,polar foxes and a myriad ofarctic birds—snowy owls,snow geese and sea birds. In winter, the island is adenning site for thousandsof female polar bears, and in summer, the beachesbecome veritable polar bearnurseries.

Throughout the island’shistory, wolves occasionallycrossed the frozen sea fromthe mainland, but no viablepacks settled on WrangelIsland until 1980, when apair of adults with theirpups were discovered alongwith evidence of regular

Phot

os b

y Pa

ul S

chur

ke

oxen populations have nowexceeded the carryingcapacity of the island, anddamage to vegetation isapparent.

O v s y a n i k o v w a sprepared to initiate a wolfreintroduction plan in2000. Then last summer, he made an astoundingdiscovery—the tracks oftwo wolves. Why they cameremains a mystery, but oneguess is that they followedan unusually high concen-tration of polar fox tracks

across the ice. Later, a zool-ogist watched a large wolfon the tundra near a placecrossed by a reindeer herd.

Because the size of thetracks indicates a large wolfa n d a s m a l l e r o n e ,Ovsyanikov hopes the twoare a breeding pair. If theysurvive the harsh winter,perhaps a litter of pups willgreet the researchers whenweather conditions permit

Left: Wrangel Island’s extraordinary ecosystemcontains the highest diversity of plants and animalsin the entire high arctic region.

Below: An expanse of sea extends 40 miles fromWrangel Island’s shore.

successful hunts on rein-deer. Researchers found noevidence, however, thatthese wolves were makingattempts to kill musk oxen.

In 1981, a pack of eightwolves was living on theisland, but the presence ofthe predators was short-lived. Despite the opposi-tion of Ovsyanikov andother scientists, the wolveswere killed in 1982 and1983 in a misguidedattempt by the Russiangovernment to protect themusk oxen. With no preda-tors to reduce the ungulateherds, reindeer and musk

Wrangel Island



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recolonize the island,Ovsyanikov will be able todirect any funds he obtainsto the scientific studies vitalto the protection of thispristine arctic refuge. Forexample, money is neededto support two f ie ldresearchers on the island allyear and for helicopterflights to bring in supplies.

W h y s u p p o r t t h e preservation and protectionof a place few people willever be able to visit?Perhaps the reward is in theknowledge that a place likeWrangel Island existsunspoiled and undisturbedfor the bears, the seals andwalruses, the great ungu-lates and the predators. Andthat includes the wolf.

without the presence of thefabled predator. “There’sreally no way to compro-mise with wolves andsheep,” said farmer KarlSigurd Hole. “They can’texist together.”

Anne Ulvik, anothersheep f a rmer, agreed .“People are afraid to walk inthe woods,” she said. “Thewolves are not just takingour sheep, they are robbingus of our quality of life.”

Ulvik’s words are sadlyfamiliar. Biologists estimatethat 80-120 wolves in 10packs live in southernScandinavia on the border ofS w e d e n a n d N o r w a y.Conservationists insist thisnumber is too low to ensurethe long-term survival of theregion’s wolves. But farmersand many villagers maintainthe number is too high.

Marty Smith, conserva-tion biologist for Defendersof Wildlife, lived for manyyears in Norway. Smithbelieves fear and hatredamong rural people make itdifficult to create cooperative

their return. Ovsyanikovremains determinedly optimistic, especially sinceweather station personnelreported seeing a wolf inmid-winter. “It is a chance,”he said in a recent letter, “forthe ecosystems of WrangelIsland to recover the naturalbalance. In the long-termperspective, two populationsof large ungulates cannotexist if the third componentof their natural evolutionaryassemblage – the wolf – ismissing.”

For severa l years ,Ovsyanikov has beensearching for funds to reintroduce wolves toWrangel Island, sincemoney for Russia’s naturereserves has all but disap-peared. If the wolves can

W O LV E S I N N O RWAY

NorwayDebates WolfManagement“We don’t have any roomfor wolves.”

—Erling Myhre, Mayor of Rendalen, Norway

(from an article by Walter GibbsThe New York Times

January 21, 2001)

In 1997, nearly a centuryafter aggressive persecu-

tion wiped out wolves ineastern Norway, a breedingpair strayed across theborder from Sweden into asparsely populated ranchingvalley. As the predators have made a comeback,debate between agriculturalinterests and conservation-ists has escalated.

M a n y N o r w e g i a n s celebrate the wolf’s naturalrecovery. But farmers,whose 2.2 million sheepgraze unsupervised in theh i g h l a n d s , a r e l e s s enthusiastic. They insistthat human survival is hardenough in the reg ion



management schemes. “It isquite surprising the depth of the animosity towardpredators in many areas ofNorway, as well as an exaggerated fear,” he said.

The Norwegian Director-ate of Nature (DN), whichcompensates farmers forloss of sheep and lambs towolves, authorized thekilling of nine wolves inNorway. The hunt, whichbegan on February 10, isscheduled to end in earlyApr i l . The DN justified

the plan byc i t i n g i t sinterpretationo f a 1 9 9 8cooperat iona g r e e m e n tb e t w e e nNorway andSweden. Thegoal of theb i l a t e ra l

agreement isthe establishment of

viable populations of largecarnivores in southernScandinavia. Norway claimsa prerequisite for a govern-

ment-sponsored wolf huntis the verification of nine“family groups” in theregion. The agreementdefines a “family group” as abreeding pair with one pup;however, said Swedish biol-ogist Anders Bjarvall, theagreement still considers apack that has lost one of theadults a family group.

By this definition, someSwedish researchers insistonly five family groups existin southern Scandinavia, not10 as the DN claims. Swedenhas, therefore, raised objec-tions to the proposed hunt.Bjarvall pointed out thatunder the agreement, “permitsmay be given to kill singlewolves that cause seriousdamage on domestic or semi-domestic animals.” Bjarvallnoted, however, the agree-ment also requires that bothNorway and Sweden exercisegreat care “not to interferewith family groups of wolvesor with established pairs.”

Cri t ic i sm has a l somounted over Norway’s ideato define special wolf zoneswhere wolves would have

Vigg

o Re

e

No rw

ay

S w e d e n

more strict protection thanelsewhere, a practice recom-mended by the WorldConservat ion Union ’s(IUCN) Wolf SpecialistGroup. The Sweden-Norwayagreement states that suchzones cannot be formed untilfamily groups of wolves havebeen established. Ironically,Bjarvall observed, now thatthree family groups havebeen formed in Norway, asuggested protected zone isactually outside the territo-ries of two of these packs.

Marty Smith observedthat such a scheme defeatsthe goals of wolf recovery.“As long as the wolf popula-tion is so limited, it shouldbe allowed to expand natu-rally and the managementzones set in relation towhere the wolves wind upsettling. In this way, there isa better chance that futuremanagement will be inclu-sive of all the resourcerequirements needed tosustain wolves over the longterm,” Smith said.

Some Norwegians claim theyare afraid to walk in the woods,and that the wolves are robbing

them of their quality of life.

Family Group, breeding 2000

Family Group

Probable Family Group

Probable territorial pair

Possible territorial pair

Singlestationary wolf

A 1998 Swedish and Norwegian scientists’ advisory panel concluded that aminimum of 500 wolves is needed to sustain the Scandinavian wolf population.

For the original mapand more information

on this subject, go to www.fvr.no/nyheter/hunt.html



Viggo Ree of the NorwegianRaptor and Carnivore Society agrees.In Ree’s opinion, the proposedreduction negates the recommenda-tions of the 1998 Swedish andNorwegian scientists’ advisory panelthat concluded a minimum of 500wolves is needed to sustain theScandinavian wolf population.

Some conservationists haveobserved that government money

targeted for the wolf cull would bebetter spent implementing effectivelivestock protection methods.Otherwise, they say, it will be impos-sible to reach the opposing goals ofrestoring and maintaining large carni-vore populations while at the sametime protecting farmers’ livelihoods.

Meanwhile, a lawsuit to stop thehunt was rejected by the court.Despite vigorous protest from

wildlife groups and wolf advocates,official hunters killed three adultfemale wolves in Hedmark Countywhere Norway’s EnvironmentMinistry says farmers lost 612 sheepto wolves last year. ■

Neil Hutt is an educator andInternational Wolf Center Board Memberwho lives in Purcellville, Virginia.

As of the printing of this article:"Norwegian officials have shot

all 9 of the wolves they sought tokill in response to depredations

on sheep, and approval was givento kill one more. A helicopter

was used to kill 8 of the 9."

For reference materials and more information about the preceding articles,

see the International Wolf Center Website, at http://www.wolf.org/learn/iwmag/

2001/summer2001/sum2001w1.shtml.

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from the moose, but the other wasvery aggressive in continuing theattack; it tried a frontal approach, butthe cow reared up and pummeled thewolf with her front legs, obscuringthe wolf in a froth of water. She musthave missed the wolf, because whenit surfaced, the wolf immediatelycontinued its attack, this timeapproaching from the rear. Themoose only had a 10-yard area ofwater to swim in, forcing her to turnin a circle with the wolf swimmingeither behind or beside her.

It was 2:26 p.m. on August 7, 2000,and U.S. Forest Service pilot DeanLee and I radio-located the alpha

male of the Pike Lake wolf pack a milesouthwest of the town of Isabella,Minnesota during a routine flight. Aswe spiraled down toward the radiosignal, we both observed a disturbanceon the surface of a small beaver pond.

Descending, we could see twowolves surrounding a cow moose, allswimming in the pond. A third wolfwatched attentively while sitting onthe beaver dam. One wolf swam away

After four minutes, the wolvestook a break on the dam, and themoose waited in the shallows, watertouching her belly. Twenty-threeminutes after we first spotted theattack, all three wolves re-entered thewater to attack the moose again. Themoose stepped into deeper water andstarted swimming in a circle again. Asthe wolves lunged at the cow’s sidesand rear, one wolf crawled onto thecow’s back and proceeded to grip thelower side of her neck. The secondand third wolves continued attacking,although one wolf was clearly verytimid about the entire business.

The moose appeared to be tiring,but four minutes after this second

Witnessing Ancient Survival Instinctsb y M i c h a e l N e l s o n

U.S

. Geo

logi

cal S

urve

y

Michael Nelson does radio-trackingfrom his plane. He witnessed anamazing wolf attack while looking for wolvessouthwest ofIsabella, Minnesota.



attack, the two wolves headed forshore. The wolf gripping the cow’sneck continued holding on foranother three minutes before it too,gave up. The moose stood in the shal-lows and the wolves rested on thedam for 17 minutes before we left tolocate other radioed wolves nearby.

When we returned 15 minuteslater, one wolf was shaking water offwhile standing on the dam. The pondappeared muddy from fresh distur-bance, and the moose again waited inthe shallows. After five minutes ofinactivity we left again, but returned30 minutes later only to observe themoose standing and the wolvesresting. Dean and I called it a day andreturned to our home base. Wewould have to wait to learn the

outcome of this encounter.Although we were eager to

observe what may have transpiredovernight, poor flying weathergrounded us the next morning. Wewere fortunate to finally fly in theafternoon, and took off to documentthe final scene of the previous day’saction. As we descended to the pond,a wolf stood up, entered the waterand swam to the other side. Aftermuch sniffing on the grassy shore-line, it disappeared into the woods.The moose was gone. There was noevidence of a carcass or of ravens,which have the uncanny ability tolocate wolf kills, sometimes evenbefore they occur.

To be sure we had not missedsome aspect of the attack, we located

the wolves again several hourslater. They had traveled 1.5miles north, and no ravenscircled the pond.

The next day, my field assis-tants Shelly Szepanski and PaulFrame hiked with me to thepond to confirm the lack of akill and to examine the scenemore closely. It was likeentering another reality, step-ping back to an earlier timewhen our hunting ancestorswere full participants in similarstruggles.

As we climbed throughthick cedars, a lders , and

blow-downs, we knew we wereapproaching the pond by theincreasing wetness of our route. Ouranticipation increased along themoose trail, cut deep into the mossand thick with tracks. A little furtheralong, wolf tracks appeared on top ofthe moose tracks, all heading towardthe pond. We finally met standingwater, and skirted its edge untilreaching the beaver dam.

Walking on the dam, we identifiedthe beds where the wolves had restedwhile they watched the moose. Wecould smell wolf. Moose hair floatedat the edge of the pond. No morethan 15 steps had separated mooseand wolves as they carried on theirinstinctive behavior, the wolvestrying to kill, the moose trying to liveanother day. Both shared the samepurpose—to sustain life and pass iton to the next generation.

Only the abundance of moosehair provided evidence that some-thing ancient and primeval hadoccurred here. At the moment, it wasjust another serene pond, like count-less others the Pike Lake wolvesencounter in their travels. ■

Dr. Michael Nelson is field supervisorfor the northeastern Minnesota wolfresearch conducted by L. David Mechof the Biological Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey.

Journey by Horseback Through Wolf Habitat Deep in theHeart of the Idaho Wilderness

•One night hotel stay, with meals

•Base camp in the wilderness with canvas cooktent and individual pop-up tents to sleep in for privacy.

•Fully prepared home cooked meals

•Trips begin in mid-July and end in late August

Mile High Outfitters of Idaho, Inc.P.O. Box 1189, Challis, Idaho 83226(208) [email protected] our webpage at

www.milehighwolf.com

Rolf

Pete

rson

A moose makes her way through deep water. Moose are a common prey of wolves.



WOLVES KILL LLAMAS Inanother dramatic triumph over

experimental non-lethal methods ofminimizing wolf damage to live-stock, a wolf pack southwest ofMarion, Montana has killed 2 of 3llamas being kept there. “Guardllamas” have been the latest hope ofmany people trying to figure outways to alleviate livestock losseswithout killing wolves. Useful toreduce loss by coyotes, llamas proveno match for the wolf which is usedto killing such animals as horses,moose, and bison.

Dave Person since 1998, and whenabout 2-years old, she swam a milefrom her natal Hercata Island to Princeof Wales Island and then embarked onthe 6.6- mile swim from that island.Although wolves are excellent swim-mers and in some areas probably swimevery day, this is a record distance fora swimming wolf.

ISLE ROYALE WOLVESdecreased from 29 in 2000 to

19 in 2001. According to Dr.Rolf Peterson, director of thestudy, this change was the netresult of last year’s reproductionand a 50% rate of mortalityfrom unknown causes. Moosenumbers reached 900, perhapsa slight increase from last year.

ANTI-WOLF SENTI-MENT is alive and well

in the Idaho State Legislature.That body is holding hearingson a “House Joint Memorial”directed towards PresidentBush, Congress, and theSecretary of the Interiordemanding that the restoredIdaho wolves be removed byany means necessary.

AWOLF IN JAPAN wasphotographed last July,

a c c o r d i n g t o “ T h e D a i l yYomiuri Shimbun Online.” Whetherit was a genuine Japanese wolf,thought to have become extinct inthe early 1900’s or whether it couldhave been a released captive animal is still undecided, although pre-liminary analyses of the photos areencouraging. More information isavailable at www.wolf.org/news/japanesewolf.shtml.

WOLVES AND HUMANCOMMUNITIES, a new

book covering the biology, politics,and ethics of reintroducing wolvesinto the Adirondack Mountains ofNew York State, was recentlypublished by Island Press. Edited byV. A. Sharpe, B. Norton, and S.Donnelly, the book is a most inter-esting compendium of paperspresented at the American Museumof Natural History in New Yorkduring October 1998.

AWOLF SHOOTING is the subject of a $10,000 reward

posted on January 31. Mexican wolfmale 590 was shot on December 16,2000 near Aragon, New Mexico onthe Apache-Sitgreaves NationalForest. A member of the reintro-duced Francisco Pack, the wolf waspart of the tiny wolf population beingnurtured in the Southwest .Information should be reported to800/432-GAME.

W OLVES ON THE ROOF. That’s what a January 13, 2001

article by Agence France Presse date-lined Moscow reported about centralSiberia. According to the article, thecoldest spell in 50 years has drivenwolves into villages to attack live-stock, and the animals have been“digging under fences or climbingonto roofs in order to break intoenclosures.” So far, 40 wolves havebeen shot, the article stated.

AQUATIC WOLF? According to Nicholas Read in the Vancouver

Sun, a radio-tagged wolf swam 6.6miles from Prince of Wales Island offthe coast of Southeast Alaska. Thewolf had been monitored by biologist

WOLVES IN CROATIA: goodnews and bad. A third wolf was

captured and radio-tagged for study inCroatia last fall, according to DjuroHuber and Josip Kusak, biologistsconducting the study. It took 1,300trap nights (10 traps for 5 nights =50 trap nights) and 500 km (300miles) of hiking to check the traps that caught the wolf. A month later,however, the wolf was shot. ■

C h e c k w w w . w o l f . o r g f o r f u r t h e r w o l f i n f o r m a t i o n

Inte

rnat

iona

l Wol

f Cen

ter


Moving Right Alongb y K e l l y B u r n s

I n t e r n a t i o n a l W o l f C e n t e r I n t e r n

Have you ever gone for a visit somewhere, thenwished you could stay? Maybe you have a summercottage you like to visit. Lots of animals travel

around, too: birds fly south for the winter, monarch butter-flies go to Mexico, deer gather in herds during winter, andsome fish travel from inland riverways to the ocean. Canyou think of more examples?

When animals travel (what scientists call “migrating”),it’s not just to enjoy some new scenery. Certain species ofanimals have regular routes they travel, migrating backand forth between the same places every winter andsummer. Other animals are on the go most of their lives.

When animals travel,they find new opportu-

nities for feeding,breeding, surviving the

cold, or protection frompredators. Depending onthe species, migration couldbe as short as a few miles, oras far as traveling from one country to another.

Wolves are travelers,too, but they usually stay

within a certain homerange, known as a

territory. In thespring and summer,

Travel Trials:Humans have a big impact on how and where animalstravel. Using the map on the opposite page, do thisactivity to see how animals must adjust to our presence.

1. Using a colored pen or pencil, place an X wherehuman disturbance might interfere with animal migrationmovements. Are there places where a human’s presencemight not affect wildlife movement?

2. With a second color, draw arrows to indicate theroute a deer might take if traveling from north to south.How does that route change if there are wolf packs inthe area?

3. Discuss with a friend: How might the deer’s travelbe different in summer compared to winter? Whichcauses a deer more limitations: the presence of wolves,or humans? What other factors might cause deer to goone direction or another?

Make a

migration to

our new exhibit!

Travel through a pup’s first

year of life in our new

exhibit for kids and families.

In one day, you can experi-

ence all the seasons of the

year, by crawling into the

wolf den, donning a wolf

tail, and crawling in to

care for the “pups” born in

spring. The den leads to the

summer rendezvous site for

food caching lessons. In

fall, you can travel with

the pack as they hunt for

dinner, and winter brings

on predator prey

games!

a pack will stay close to their pups first at a den and thenat a rendezvous site (a meeting place). By wintertime, thepups will travel with the pack to seek food throughout thewhole territory. Sometimes a wolf might venture outside ofthe territory and leave home for good; other times theymay wander around and come back.

As animals move repeatedly over familiar travel routes,the landscape may change significantly between visits.Sometimes they even find roadblocks in their path.Humans change the landscape with buildings and roads,which may reroute an animal or stop the trip all together.

Check out the article, “Preserving Corridors for allSpecies” in this issue to learn how scientists and otherconcerned people are working to connect wildlife habitatsto make movements easier. ■


Lynn

and

Don

na R

oger

s



Stoney Brook

STONEY BROOK PACKTERRITORY

PARK PACKTERRITORY

BIG CREEK PACKTERRITORY

Anytown

Park Road

Hig

hway

Summer Park Campground

Big Creek

Gravel Road

Paved Road

Water

Pack territories

KEY


Captive wildlife facilities havehistorically been considered substan-dard or poor substitutes for wildlifeexperiences. Hearing a pack of wolveshowl at the International Wolf Centeror at the Grizzly Discovery Center isnot the same as hearing a pack of wildwolves howl in the Lamar Valley, butit still allows the visitor to have apersonal and relating moment withthis species. The next headline abouta wolf is much more likely to be readby a person who knows that soundthan one who does not.

New exhibit tech-niques , husbandryprograms, and educa-tional outreach offeredin today’s zoologicalinstitutions need to be embraced as viable, n o n - c o n s u m p t i v eaugmenta t ions towildlife education. Forthe general zoo visitor,zoos and aquariumsserve the conservationc o m m u n i t y b yproviding informationin a relaxed family-oriented setting.

Advocacy groups,wi ld l i fe protect ion

groups and zoological educatorsshare a common goal…to instill inothers the passion to protect,conserve, restore and ultimately liveharmoniously with the wildlife andwild lands that are such a unique part of our environment. I urge us to put aside our differences and fosterthe partnerships that are needed to make our conservation messagereach as many ears as possible in themost effective and humane mannerpossible. We can make a difference. ■

Gale H. Ford is the executive directorand veterinarian for the GrizzlyDiscovery Center in West Yellowstone,Montana.

Educational venues to view,interact with, and learn aboutwildlife occur in many

settings, including zoos, preserves,refuges, rehabilitation centers,national parks and other wild lands.Urban living situations, increased job demands, different multiculturalperceptions, an aging human popula-tion and changes in nuclear familystructure, are but a few of the majorchanges drastically affecting thenature education of our youngpeople. The connection betweenyoung people and wildlife must benurtured and not left to chance.

Alternative avenues for inspiring aninterest in wildlife and wild lands mustbe recognized and enhanced for theirability to establish a personal relation-ship between people and wildlife. The desire to understand or merelyview animals has been joined by theneed to conserve their populations and ecosystems. The understanding of animals’ needs and of humanimpacts on animal populations hasbecome critical, because the future of these animals depends on people.

Today, conservation educationneeds to be recognized as a specialtythat benefits from diverse tech-nologies, varied educational effortsand multi-disciplinary expertise. Theconservation message needs to shiftfrom merely endangerment, captivebreeding, or even reintroduction toinclude and emphasize the importanceof saving habitat. As one biologist onceasked, “What good is it to try to savean individual muskrat when someoneis draining the marsh?”


Making a Difference, Togetherb y G a l e H . F o r d , D V M , M S

Cal

vin

Abe

rnat

hy

Pack behaviors, such as howling,allow visitors at the GrizzlyDiscovery Center to experiencethe essence of the wolf. WolvesHayden and Granite in the foreground are often seen interacting at the center.


(Cyberspace that is)www.wolf.org

Explore the WebWhether searching for information on ourresident wolf pack or looking for details onwolves around the world, the InternationalWolf Center Web site has volumes ofinformation at the ready for you! With over700 pages of information there's bound to bean area of the site you haven't seen before.Find out about telemetry, discover how wolvesare viewed in Europe, take a virtual tour ofour Ely facility. Go exploring today!

Whether for fun or

study, check out our

home on the Web today!


763-560-7374

The International Wolf Center

invites you to visit our Wolf Den

store the next time you're in Ely.

Or if you just can't wait, stop at our

web site at www.wolf.org where

you'll find a wide variety of gifts,

apparel and home decor items - all

with a special twist that's perfect

for the wolf fancier.

The Wolf Den Gift Store is located at the

International Wolf Center - Ely, Minnesota

or on the web at: www.wolf.org

Visit the Wolf Den in person or on-line


This curriculum on wolves includes all you need for a comprehensive unit on the many aspects of wolves and the current controversies surrounding their survival includingteacher background information, interdisciplinary activities,assessment recommendations, and all student worksheetsand game pieces.

ATTENTION EDUCATORS

ÈActivities for varying subjects and grade levels 6 -12ÈOn-line interactive student workbookÈ Teacher supplement includes over 20

activities to boost student comprehensionÈ Teacher Workshops will be held in

various Minnesota locations during June in: Duluth, St. Paul, Mankato,Brainerd, and Bemidji. Call Carolyn at 218-365-4695, ext. 28 for specificdates and timesÈ Curriculum available after June 1 by

calling 218-365-4695 ext. 25

“ What people do notunderstand, they fear.

What they fear, they tend to destroy.”

–U N KNOWN

a new wolf curriculum

Do Something Really This Summer. Visit Us!The International Wolf Center in Ely, Minnesota. Plan your trip to wild wolf country now.

experience the 6,000-square foot Wolves and Humansexhibit learn more about wolves from naturalists onsite take treks through wolf habitat: tracking, hiking,howling or journey to an abandoned wolf den get toknow the Ambassador Pack of five wolves, includingarctic yearlings new Little Wolf children’s exhibit

See www.wolf.org for information and program schedules. Phone:1-800-ELY-WOLF, ext. 325

SUMMER HOURS:

MAY - JUNE 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily

JULY - AUGUST 9 a.m.-7 p.m. dailyNow you can visit longer hours in July and August!

WildTeaching the World About Wolves

Wal

ter

Med

wid

GREYWOLVES

GREYMATTER

SP Cover.summer 01 4/20/01 8:51 AM Page 2

Understandingthe ReclassificationControversy, page 4

AdirondackReintroductionDebate, page 8

Wolf Sighted inWildlife Corridors,page 11

3300 Bass Lake Road, #202Minneapolis, MN 55429-2518

A PUBL ICAT ION OF THE INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTERSUMMER 2001

NON-PROFIT ORG.

U.S. Postage

PAIDPermit #4894

Mpls., MN

THE ALPHALEGACY PROGRAMrecognizes the

generosity and foresight

of individuals who

have included the

International Wolf Center

in their wills or other

estate plans.

To learn more about making a gift through this program, please contact Walter Medwid, Executive Director, International Wolf Center, 3300 Bass Lake Road, #202Minneapolis, MN 55429

763-560-7374wmedwid@wolf .org

Together we can work to secure the survival of wolves.

P h o t o b y L y n n a n d D o n n a R o g e r s





SP Cover.summer 01 4/20/01 8:51 AM Page 1

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