Northeast Wolf Management and Policy

In 1998, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced its intention to develop an eastern wolf recovery plan specifically for the Northeast, which includes Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and northern New York. In the 1992 Recovery Plan for the Eastern Timber Wolf, which primarily focused on the Great Lakes region, FWS identified three areas in the Northeast for possible wolf recovery: Adirondack Park in New York, a portion of northwestern Maine and northern New Hampshire, and a site in eastern Maine. A new recovery plan focused on this region is needed to move northeast wolf recovery forward. In 2003, Defenders presented several factors to support wolf restoration in this region in a petition to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

That same year, the Bush Administration attempted to remove protections for wolves in the eastern portion of the United States. This plan would have prevented future recovery efforts in the Northeast. A court win, led by Defenders, prevented the plan from going into affect, leaving the opportunity to explore wolf restoration in this region.