Abstract
The Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery plan proposed reintroduction of Canis lupus [gray wolf] to Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho as part of a wolf restoration plan for the northern Rocky Mountains of the United States. Strong opposition from some factions within the region forestalled the action for two decades....A reintroduction plan was developed in the summer and fall of 1994. Acquiring, holding, transporting, and releasing suitable wolves for reintroduction presented a myriad of technical and logistical challenges....The progress of the reintroduction program in its first year far exceeded expectations....Future reintroduction planners can expect sociocultural issues to pervade the effort, but they can be optimistic that, from a biological standpoint, reintroduction of wolves has strong potential as a restoration technique.
Background and Introduction
Restoration of endangered animals to former range often involves complex biological, social, and political challenges. After two decades spent overcoming such obstacles, Canis lupus [the gray wolf] was reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho in January 1995. The purpose of this paper is to provide others who may contemplate similar programs with the benefit of our experience in obtaining approval for, planning, and carrying out a reintroduction of wolves. In addition, we provide the first biological results of our reintroduction design and protocol as an evaluation of its efficacy....
....The majority of settlers to North America originated in areas of Europe where the views on wolves were most negative. Apparently, most viewed the animal as symbolic of an untamed land that had to be subdued in the name of civilization. Beginning in the eighteenth century, the wolf was eliminated from all of the contiguous United States except for northeastern Minnesota....Apparently, no viable wolf population remained anywhere in the area of Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho by about 1925. Hardly anyone had objected and future restoration seemed highly improbable. The reputation of the wolf as a vicious killer of livestock and big game and a threat to human safety lived on in legend within the northern Rockies. Such attitudes are still among many residents of the area, particularly livestock producers.
Origins of Interest in Wolf Restoration
A few wolves [