Defenders of Wildlife Releases New Blueprint for Wolf Recovery Success in the U.S.
New Report Details Current Status and Steps to be Taken to Ensure Future Recovery
(8/23/2006) - Washington, D.C. -- Long-term recovery of the gray wolf in America requires protection and expansion of current populations, new restoration efforts in additional areas, and innovative landowner education, compensation and incentive programs to succeed, according to a new report issued by Defenders of Wildlife. The report, titled Places for Wolves: A Blueprint for Restoration and Recovery in the Lower 48 States updates the current status of wolves in these states and offers ways to build upon the recovery success already witnessed in Yellowstone and the Great Lakes regions."The return of the gray wolf to the American West is one of our country's greatest conservation success stories," said Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife. "The gray wolf's recovery in the Rockies and the Great Lakes regions stand as testament to America's commitment to protecting our natural heritage. We now have the opportunity to build on this foundation and ensure the continued recovery of the wolf for decades to come."
The report details the current status of wolf populations and/or the potential for wolf recovery efforts in seven key regions: the northern and southern Rockies, the Great Lakes, the Upper Northeast, the Pacific Northwest, the Southwest and the Southeast. All of these regions are within the historic range of wolves and all could or currently do support recovering wolf populations. The report also details eight specific recommendations to ensure wolf recovery:
• Continue ongoing conservation of existing wolf populations through federal protection and, when appropriate, state-based management;
• Support continued expansion of the northern Rockies gray wolf population into Oregon, Utah, California, and Colorado;
• Restore gray wolves to other suitable
areas including, the Northeast, the Pacific Northwest, the southern Rockies, and
the Southwest through reintroduction or facilitated natural recovery
efforts;
• Reintroduce red wolves in two additional locations within their
historic range in the Southeast;
• Increase incentives for landowners and tribal government to facilitate wolf restoration on non-federal land;
• Transfer wolf management responsibilities to states that have adequate long-term wolf recovery plans;
• Work with the Mexican and Canadian governments to ensure the ability of wolves to disperse across international borders; and
• Negotiate a treaty with Canada and Mexico to ensure international protections for wolves and other large carnivores.
"Federal and state agencies play an important role in wolf recovery, but we must also partner with landowners, ranchers, farmers and tribal governments to ensure continued success," said Schlickeisen. "Although the toll wolves take on livestock is minor, programs that compensate ranchers for losses and provide conservation incentives to landowners are a vital component of wolf recovery efforts."
"The collaborative process works and can
help those with divergent opinions resolve misunderstandings without damaging
the value of each other as human beings.... The direction we are pursuing now
regarding living with wolves is a great place to start this effort," said Lane
Adamson, director of the Madison Valley Ranchlands Group in Ennis,
Montana.
"The recovery of the wolf in America will require innovative
programs that address local stakeholder concerns as well as ambitious outreach
and education programs to help dispel myths about wolves. It will require the
earnest participation of conservation-minded Americans in both the public and
private sectors," said Schlickeisen. "Humans almost drove the wolf to extinction
in America once. Now we now have the chance to be the architects of their
recovery. It is an opportunity we should not miss."
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Defenders of Wildlife is a national, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to the protection of all native wild animals and plants in their natural communities.
Contact(s):
William Lutz, (202) 772-0269Cindy Hoffman, (202) 772-3255
