Wolf Restoration Research Articles

Characterizing social conflict over wolf reintroduction in Colorado: A theoretical model of intergroup conflict

Abstract Context: Wolf restoration is a highly divisive issue in the American West, with stakeholder conflict driven by value and identity‐based disagreements. Research suggests that such conflicts require reconciliation to repair intergroup relations before negotiations to address the issue can begin, yet, in the conservation and natural resource management fields, stakeholder processes about divisive issues typically focus only on negotiations. There is a gap in the literature on how to identify and target the drivers of value and identity‐based conflicts. Approach: We interviewed stakeholders highly engaged in the issue of proposed wolf reintroduction in Colorado to gain insight on the drivers of the conflict and to inform reconciliation interventions. We pulled from conflict and peace‐building theories to frame our analysis, specifically suggestions that conflict is fueled by four categories of perceptions, including perceptions of: the group one is in conflict with, one's own social group, the relationship between groups, and the nature of the conflict. Key Findings: We found that all interviewees discussed perceptions that can fuel conflict within each of these four categories. However, interviewees who identified as 3rd parties to the conflict primarily discussed the relationships between those in conflict and engaged in thoughtful perspective‐taking, an activity that can help reduce conflict. Conversely, both those strongly in support of reintroduction and strongly opposed to reintroduction most commonly described negative perceptions about individuals they are in conflict with and positive perceptions about themselves and their social group. For example, when discussing others, both groups described each other as acting in unjust and unfair ways, as being incapable of or unwilling to change, and as misinformed. When describing positive perceptions of themselves, both those in support and those in opposition viewed their own goals as just and themselves as victims of outgroup members’ actions. Synthesis and applications: Based on our findings, we suggest various reconciliation interventions that may assist wildlife managers in reducing the conflict about wolf reintroduction in Colorado. These recommendations may also be applicable to wildlife managers working on other issues with high stakeholder conflict. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Red wolf science and identity storylines in an online discursive community

Predator restoration is ecologically important but politically controversial. Red wolf (Canis rufus) reintroduction is challenged by public criticism and scientific uncertainty. Red wolf taxonomy is a core issue, as researchers debate wolves’ identity and political stakeholders work to interpret technical issues and promote their favored political storylines. Red wolf reintroduction critics form a politically important discursive community. We analyzed these critics’ discourse, identifying storylines characterizing science, scientists, and red wolf identity. Our corpus was an influential internet thread, active since 2013. We found that red wolf restoration opponents accepted the authority of science, and felt that science supported their perspective. They believed peer reviewed science to be more legitimate than applied or management science, that science supported their belief that red wolves were not a real species, and that red wolves’ status as a species was an anti-scientific conspiracy. Red wolf restoration advocates on the thread countered these arguments while similarly believing in scientific authority. Restoration opponents constantly sought to promote their storylines in policy-making venues, and found the red wolf restoration program to be corrupt and the reintroduced canids themselves to be impure. These storylines parallel similar findings elsewhere, highlighting the political challenges faced by predator restoration science and policy, the issues of purity complicating many levels of the discourse, and the role of online venues as effective spaces to create and promote discursive communities and their storylines

Socio-ecological drivers of public conservation voting: Restoring gray wolves to Colorado, USA.

Understanding factors that influence real-world public conservation behaviors is critical for developing successful conservation policies and management actions. Citizens of Colorado, USA recently passed a ballot initiative to restore the gray wolf to its former range within the state. The >3 million votes offer an unprecedented opportunity to test factors that influenced decisions to support or oppose this conservation action. We created spatial linear regression models to assess the relationship between support for wolf restoration and (1) the presidential vote, (2) distance to conservation intervention (i.e., proposed wolf reintroduction and existing wolves), and measures of (3) livelihood and (4) demographics using precinct-level data. Our results demonstrate the strong relationship between support for wolf restoration and political support for the Democratic candidate for president in the 2020 election, and highlight how other factors, including increased age, participation in elk hunting, and proximity to the reintroduction region were associated with less support. Our findings underscore the critical role of politicization on public conservation action and the need to develop outreach and engagement strategies to mitigate polarization.

Yellowstone Cougars: Ecology before and during wolf restoration. Toni K.Ruth, Polly C.Buotte, and Maurice G.Hornocker. 2019. University Press of Colorado, Louisville, Colorado, USA. 336 pp. $65.00 hardcover. ISBN: 9781607328285

Yellowstone Cougars: Ecology before and during wolf restoration. Toni K.Ruth, Polly C.Buotte, and Maurice G.Hornocker. 2019. University Press of Colorado, Louisville, Colorado, USA. 336 pp. $65.00 hardcover. ISBN: 9781607328285

Intended and unintended consequences of wolf restoration to Yellowstone and Isle Royale National Parks

AbstractWolves (Canis lupus), a once widely distributed species, were systematically removed from many temperate zone ecosystems due to conflicts with humans. A change in human attitudes and cultural norms has brought about a recovery in some suitable areas, yet reintroductions are still controversial. Two notable reintroduction areas in the United States were Yellowstone and Isle Royale National Parks. Both proposals caused polarization and debate. In Yellowstone opposition focused on outside the park effects, mainly wolves killing livestock and wild game also desired by human hunters. At Isle Royale, opposition was mostly about human interventions into nature and impairment of wilderness values contrary to the spirit of 1964 Wilderness Act. Both locations had periods in the 20th century with and without wolves and the presence of wolves had a dampening effect on ungulate population fluctuations. Most outcomes of reintroduction at Yellowstone were predicted as the Environmental Impact Statement written beforehand correctly predicted 78% of the 51 outcomes that were examined. Wolves were too recently reintroduced to Isle Royale to make similar comparisons, but we conclude that intervention is not contrary to the Wilderness Act, nor author Howard Zahniser's vision, partially because wolf reintroduction was a mitigation for human actions. Also, not intervening, or inaction, often perceived as safer, would have had more damaging impacts to ecosystem functioning.

Yellowstone Cougars: Ecology Before and During Wolf Restoration

Yellowstone Cougars: Ecology Before and During Wolf Restoration

"Yellowstone Cougars: Ecology Before and During Wolf Restoration" by Toni K. Ruth, Polly C. Buotte, and Maurice G. Hornocker, 2019. [book review

"Yellowstone Cougars: Ecology Before and During Wolf Restoration" by Toni K. Ruth, Polly C. Buotte, and Maurice G. Hornocker, 2019. [book review

A Genome-Wide Perspective on the Persistence of Red Wolf Ancestry in Southeastern Canids.

The red wolf (Canis rufus), a legally recognized and critically endangered wolf, is known to interbreed with coyotes (Canis latrans). Declared extirpated in the wild in 1980, red wolves were reintroduced to northeastern North Carolina nearly a decade later. Interbreeding with coyotes was thought to be restricted to a narrow geographic region adjacent to the reintroduced population and largely believed to threaten red wolf recovery. However, red wolf ancestry was recently discovered in canids along the American Gulf Coast, igniting a broader survey of ancestry in southeastern canid populations. Here, we examine geographic and temporal patterns of genome-wide red wolf ancestry in 260 canids across the southeastern United States at over 164 000 SNP loci. We found that red wolf ancestry was most prevalent in canids sampled from Texas in the mid-1970s, although non-trivial amounts of red wolf ancestry persist in this region today. Further, red wolf ancestry was also observed in a subset of coyotes inhabiting North Carolina, despite management efforts to limit the occurrence of hybridization events. Lastly, we found no evidence of substantial red wolf ancestry in southeastern canids outside of these 2 admixture zones. Overall, this study provides a genome-wide survey of red wolf ancestry in canids across the southeastern United States, which may ultimately inform future red wolf restoration efforts.

The Last Stand of the Pack: Critical Edition by Arthur H. Carhart in collaboration with Stanley P. Young. Edited by Andrew Gulliford and Tom Wolf

Reviewed by: The Last Stand of the Pack: Critical Edition by Arthur H. Carhart in collaboration with Stanley P. Young. Edited by Andrew Gulliford and Tom Wolf Sharon Wilcox The Last Stand of the Pack: Critical Edition. By Arthur H. Carhart in collaboration with Stanley P. Young. Edited by Andrew Gulliford and Tom Wolf. Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2017. vii + 283 pp. Maps, illustrations, index. $24.95 paper. Perhaps more than any other wild animal in North America, the wolf has long sparked emotional, inflamed, and violent responses from human communities. What can critical reflection on past interspecies encounters reveal about contemporary conditions, and how can it inform our comingled futures? The Last Stand of the Pack: Critical Edition brings past attitudes into dialog with those of the present in order to explore the potential for recovery of the species in Colorado. In the volume's introduction, coeditor Tom Wolf positions Arthur Carhart as a "prophet" in the cause to save wilderness as "something that could mark America as the Chosen Land, as God's own country" (xii). Utilizing patriotic and religious rhetoric more often associated with the articulation of anti-wolf sentiment, he seeks a new cultural path to coexistence, noting, "They will have no wolves in Colorado until we learn to say to hell with our differences and reunite behind our true heritage as Americans: a wild wilderness" (xiii). Comprising the first half of the volume, Carhart's The Last Stand of the Pack (1929) weaves together intimate tales of men and wolves at moments of violent encounter. While Carhart engages with familiar recriminations of wolves as violent, unnatural "outlaws," the narrative also contains moments of admiration and sympathy for these animals, revealing a complex, contradictory biopolitics that remains interwoven in wolf-human relations today. The second part of the book situates The Last Stand within contemporary debates concerning the return of the wolf to the front ranges of Colorado. Coeditor Andrew Gulliford notes that within a year of publication, Carhart queried, "Isn't it a just consideration that the cats and wolves and coyotes have a damned sight better basic right to live in the hills . . . than the domestic livestock of the stockmen?" (230). Gulliford considers how such shifts in perception might be facilitated today, noting the potentialities and impediments to wolf restoration are located within deeply held human value systems. He locates a way forward through culturally informed measures that acknowledge and are sensitive to the fears and values of local human communities. Two subsequent chapters written by stakeholders collectively articulate popular rationales central to contemporary anti-wolf sentiment. Concerns for personal safety, citing hyperbolic tales of wolf predation, remain a common refrain, while the protection of financial interests and lifeways tied to the land underlay this resistance. These chapters reinforce Gulliford's position that pro-wolf arguments founded in science are not enough to sway opinion. Rather, the fears, values, and needs of the local community must be addressed by pro-wolf advocates. In the final chapter, authors Phillips, Bishop, and Gardner address the enduring "power of myths" in conveying misinformation about wolves, as articulated in the prior chapters. They highlight outreach and education efforts by grassroots community groups to address these fears and to "fix a narrative that is vastly different" than the one that has so far informed human-wolf relationships, in order to form "a restorative and affirming relationship" (271) moving forward. The authors collectively offer valuable insight into the challenges ahead for wolf restoration in Colorado. This volume joins an important body of work on wolf-human relationships in North America and represents a significant contribution in theory and method for practitioners and scholars working in fields as diverse as environmental history, animal studies, and conservation social science. [End Page 45] Sharon Wilcox Center for Culture, History, and Environment Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies University of Wisconsin–Madison Copyright © 2019 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Using Historical Accounts (1796–1881) to Inform Contemporary Wildlife Management in the Yellowstone Area

Describing historic wildlife communities is important for evaluating changes in ecosystems through time and developing contemporary objectives for conservation and restoration. The early historical record in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem has been analyzed many times using a small number of written accounts, with interpretations vigorously disputed among historians, scientists, and other stakeholders. We compiled a comprehensive narrative of thousands of first-hand accounts of wildlife in the ecosystem during 1796–1881, summarized them in a georeferenced relational database, and categorized and mapped output from queries to clarify conflicting past perceptions and gain insights for contemporary management issues. The historical record indicates large mammals such as bison (Bison bison), elk (Cervus elaphus), pronghorn (Antilocapra americana), and wolves (Canis lupus) were present and widespread in present-day Yellowstone National Park and the larger ecosystem prior to Euro-American colonization. However, casual observations could not be used to estimate population sizes, relative abundances, seasonal movements and migration routes, or periods of occupancy with certainty. Despite these shortcomings, the approach was useful for informing contemporary management issues regarding wolf restoration, seasonal distributions of ungulates, and whether mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) were native to the Yellowstone area. Similar evaluations could be conducted elsewhere to clarify historic wildlife conditions and provide reference information for modern conservation decisions.

野生生物保護学会第8回大会 自由集会報告「オオカミ日本復活計画」

野生生物保護学会第8回大会 自由集会報告「オオカミ日本復活計画」

Managing wolves in the Yellowstone area: Balancing goals across jurisdictional boundaries

ABSTRACTGray wolf (Canis lupus) restoration in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem began in 1995 with a small founder population in Yellowstone National Park, USA, which increased and contributed to a fully restored population in the northern Rocky Mountains by 2003. Upon removal as a federally listed, threatened species, wolf management outside the park was conveyed to Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming (USA) during 2009–2012; though wolves were relisted in Wyoming in 2014. Subsequent harvests elicited substantial negative reactions from wolf advocates when wolves that lived primarily in the park moved into surrounding states and were lawfully harvested. Conversely, many game managers and hunters advocated for larger harvests of wolves, including those in the park. These divergent viewpoints merit consideration when developing management plans for wolves that move between preserves and areas where hunting is permitted. We describe the history of wolf restoration and hunting in the ecosystem, contrast National Park Service and state management objectives, and characterize the risk to wolves living primarily in the park from hunting in surrounding areas. We recommend a framework for trans‐boundary wolf management that considers population, social structure, and ecosystem objectives on public lands, potential influences of harvests on population growth, depredation risks to livestock, and opportunities for hunters and wildlife watching. We also consider human attitudes and social norms, thereby allowing for differences in values in our prescriptions. This framework has been implemented in a key hunting area along the northern boundary of Yellowstone and is broadly applicable elsewhere for the management of wildlife species held in the public trust. © 2016 The Wildlife Society.

When shooting a coyote kills a wolf: Mistaken identity or misguided management?

The recovery of wolf populations in the United States (U.S.) is hampered by ongoing human-wolf conflicts. In particular, the illegal killing of grey wolves (Canis lupus), red wolves (Canis rufus), and Mexican wolves (Canis lupus baileyi) protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act has contributed to relatively high mortality rates in some areas. One issue is that wolves are often mistaken as coyotes (Canis latrans) and illegally shot by hunters. To minimise cases of mistaken identity, stricter regulation of coyote hunting is being adopted in some areas where endangered wolves exist. Here we argue that such management should be adopted more widely, and especially in areas where wolves are at low densities or recolonising new areas. Such a proposal may face opposition, particularly where coyote hunting is common, or where coyotes are perceived as a threat to human enterprises such as livestock ranching. Appropriate education and training is needed to ensure that the public is aware that (i) wolves and coyotes are difficult to distinguish from a distance and (ii) coyotes are far too resilient to be affected by most periodic eradication programs, let alone from derbies or recreational hunting. We conclude that recreational hunting of coyotes could restrict wolf recolonisation while providing little benefit to animal agriculture. Consideration of new management strategies is therefore required to assist with wolf restoration efforts and to minimise ongoing human-wildlife conflicts.

Can bioinformed design promote healthy indoor ecosystems?

Can bioinformed design promote healthy indoor ecosystems?

Red Wolf (Canis rufus) Recovery: A Review with Suggestions for Future Research.

Simple SummaryOnce widespread in the Eastern United States, early 20th century predator-control programs reduced red wolves to a remnant population by the 1970s. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, through the Red Wolf Recovery Program, restored red wolves to northeastern North Carolina in 1987. After 25 years of restoration efforts, issues of hybridization with coyotes, inbreeding, and human-caused mortality continue to hamper red wolf recovery. To understand how these issues influence recovery efforts, we examine the history of red wolf restoration and its challenges. We then formulate areas of research that are of direct relevance to the restoration of red wolves.By the 1970s, government-supported eradication campaigns reduced red wolves to a remnant population of less than 100 individuals on the southern border of Texas and Louisiana. Restoration efforts in the region were deemed unpromising because of predator-control programs and hybridization with coyotes. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) removed the last remaining red wolves from the wild and placed them in a captive-breeding program. In 1980, the USFWS declared red wolves extinct in the wild. During 1987, the USFWS, through the Red Wolf Recovery Program, reintroduced red wolves into northeastern North Carolina. Although restoration efforts have established a population of approximately 70–80 red wolves in the wild, issues of hybridization with coyotes, inbreeding, and human-caused mortality continue to hamper red wolf recovery. We explore these three challenges and, within each challenge, we illustrate how research can be used to resolve problems associated with red wolf-coyote interactions, effects of inbreeding, and demographic responses to human-caused mortality. We hope this illustrates the utility of research to advance restoration of red wolves.

Missing lynx and trophic cascades in food webs: A reply to Ripple et al.

AbstractRipple et al. (2011) proposed a hypothesis that the recovery of gray wolves (Canis lupus) may positively affect the viability of threatened Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) populations in the contiguous United States through indirect species interactions. Ripple et al. (2011) proposed 2 key trophic linkages connecting wolf restoration with lynx recovery. First, recovering wolf populations may benefit lynx through reduced interference and exploitative competition with coyotes (C. latrans). Second, recovering wolf populations may benefit lynx through reduced exploitative competition among ungulates and snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus), the primary prey of lynx. Both proposed linkages have weak or contradictory empirical support in the available literature on lynx–hare ecology, casting doubt on the utility of Ripple et al.'s (2011) hypothesis. Debate over Ripple et al.'s (2011) hypothesis demonstrates the importance of experimental or comparative documentation when proposing trophic cascades in complex food webs. In this case, publishing unsupported opinions as hypotheses that concern complex trophic interactions is a potential disservice to lynx conservation through misallocated research, conservation funding, and misplaced public perception. © 2012 The Wildlife Society.

Wolves–coyotes–foxes: a cascade among carnivores

Due to the widespread eradication of large canids and felids, top predators in many terrestrial ecosystems are now medium-sized carnivores such as coyotes. Coyotes have been shown to increase songbird and rodent abundance and diversity by suppressing populations of small carnivores such as domestic cats and foxes. The restoration of gray wolves to many parts of North America, however, could alter this interaction chain. Here we use a 30-year time series of wolf, coyote, and fox relative abundance from the state of Minnesota, USA, to show that wolves suppress coyote populations, which in turn releases foxes from top-down control by coyotes. In contrast to mesopredator release theory, which has often considered the consequence of top predator removal in a three-species interaction chain (e.g., coyote-fox-prey), the presence of the top predator releases the smaller predator in a four-species interaction chain. Thus, heavy predation by abundant small predators might be more similar to the historical ecosystem before top-predator extirpation. The restructuring of predator communities due to the loss or restoration of top predators is likely to alter the size spectrum of heavily consumed prey with important implications for biodiversity and human health.

Changes in Elk Distribution and Group Sizes after Wolf Restoration

Abstract Changes in ungulate distribution can alter competitive interactions, plant communities, risks of zoonotic disease transmission, and availability of animals for harvest. We used annual aerial survey data for northern Yellowstone elk in Montana and Wyoming, USA to evaluate factors influencing distribution and group sizes during 1987–2009 in four sectors of elk winter range corresponding to river watersheds with different minimum elevations and snowpacks. Our best logistic regression model suggested the proportion of elk occupying the upper elevation sector decreased following wolf restoration and increased snowpack. The proportion of elk occupying the lower elevation sector increased following wolf restoration and as snowpack increased at higher elevations. Linear regression suggested group sizes increased in the lower elevation sector after wolves were restored. Concurrent demographic and movement studies suggest these changes resulted primarily from the attrition of elk from high snow areas in Ye...

Trophic cascades linking wolves (Canis lupus), coyotes (Canis latrans), and small mammals

When large carnivores are extirpated from ecosystems that evolved with apex predators, these systems can change at the herbivore and plant trophic levels. Such changes across trophic levels are called cascading effects and they are very important to conservation. Studies on the effects of reintroduced wolves in Yellowstone National Park have examined the interaction pathway of wolves ( Canis lupus L., 1758) to ungulates to plants. This study examines the interaction effects of wolves to coyotes to rodents (reversing mesopredator release in the absence of wolves). Coyotes ( Canis latrans Say, 1823) generally avoided areas near a wolf den. However, when in the proximity of a den, they used woody habitats (pine or sage) compared with herbaceous habitats (grass or forb or sedge)– when they were away from the wolf den. Our data suggested a significant increase in rodent numbers, particularly voles (genus Microtus Schrank, 1798), during the 3-year study on plots that were within 3 km of the wolf den, but we did not detect a significant change in rodent numbers over time for more distant plots. Predation by coyotes may have depressed numbers of small mammals in areas away from the wolf den. These factors indicate a top–down effect by wolves on coyotes and subsequently on the rodents of the area. Restoration of wolves could be a powerful tool for regulating predation at lower trophic levels.

Songbird response to increased willow (Salixspp.) growth in Yellowstone's northern range

After nearly a century of height suppression, willows (Salix spp.) in the northern range of Yellowstone National Park, U.S.A., are increasing in height growth as a possible consequence of wolf (Canis lupus) restoration, climate change, or other factors. Regardless of the drivers, the recent release of this rare but important habitat type could have significant implications for associated songbirds that are exhibiting declines in the region. Our objective was to evaluate bird response to releasing willows by comparing willow structure and bird community composition across three willow growth conditions: height suppressed, recently released, and previously tall (i.e., tall prior to the height increase of released willows). Released and previously tall willows exhibited high and similar vertical structure, but released willows were significantly lower in horizontal structure. Suppressed willows were significantly shorter and lower in horizontal cover than released or previously tall willows. Bird richness increased along a gradient from lowest in suppressed to highest in previously tall willows, but abundance and diversity were similar between released and previously tall willows, despite lower horizontal cover in the released condition. Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) and Lincoln's Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii) were found in all three growth conditions; however, Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia), Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus), Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii), and Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodii) were present in released and previously tall willows only. Wilson's Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla) was found in previously tall willows only, appearing to specialize on tall, dense willows. The results of our a priori habitat models indicated that foliage height diversity was the primary driver of bird richness, abundance, and diversity. These results indicate that vertical structure was a more important driver of bird community variables than horizontal structure and that riparian and willow-dependent bird species have responded positively to increased willow growth in the region.