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Will Wolves Ever Return to New England?

Since wolves were placed on the Endangered Species Act, there have been several successful reintroduction attempts that have returned wolves to part of their original range, with Yellowstone National Park being the most notable example. Yet, wolves have still not returned to New England. Why is that and is there a chance that they we will once again hear the howling of wolves in the forests of New England?

Credit: Eric Kilby from Somerville, MA, USA / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)

Possible Return of Wolves to New England?

When the USFWS reintroduction efforts for wolves began in other areas of the country, there was some discussion of returning wolves to their historical Northeastern habitat, but this idea seems to have been put on hold for the time being. (22,35)
Wolves have been successfully reintroduced to other areas in the country, such as in Yellowstone National Park, meaning that it could be possible to repeat such reintroductions in the New England. (34)
Wolves from Canadian populations have successfully recolonized areas of their former range in the U.S., which is another potential way for wolves to return to New England. (45)
Many environmental organizations are advocating for the deliberate reintroduction of wolves to New England, or at least for the protection of any wolves that return on their own. Examples include Defenders of Wildlife and the Timber Wolf Coalition. (See the Find Out More page for more information).

Natural Recolonization

Wolves have travelled over 600 miles in search of their own territories, and there are two wolf populations in Canada - one in Quebec and one in Algonquin Park - that are within the range where it would be possible for individuals to disperse into the U.S., although there have been no documentations of wolves crossing the St. Lawerence River yet. (38,45)
Wolves have naturally recolonized areas in the West, but wolves were never fully extirpated from the western states as they were in New England.(45)
A 1998 study focused on two potential areas for wolf recolonization, with one in New York and the other in Maine. It found the Maine recolonization more likely than New York, but that there was still a lot of unsuitable habitat for wolves to cross through (such as roads and developed areas) to get to the suitable habitat in Maine. (45)
On the whole, it is likely that any wolf population established in the Northeast by natural recolonization would be too small and too far away from source populations in Canada for it to be succesful, but it is still in the realm of possibility. (45)

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Credit: NPS / Jacob W. Frank

Credit: USFWS

Reintroduction

Wolves have been succesfully reintroduced by the USFWS in Yellowstone National Park, in the Northern Rocky Mountains region, and in the Southwest, so it is something that can be done. (34)
There has been discussion of reintroducing wolves to the Northeast, specifically in Adirondack State Park and the Northern Forest regions of New York, Maine, and northern Vermont and New Hampshire. There is sutiable habitat for wolves in this region, but it would only support a small popultion. (20,45)
The Northern Wolf Coalition reports that only Connecticut, New Hampshire, and New York list wolves on their Endangered or Threatened Species lists, and New Hampshire has passed legislature that bans any reintroduction of wolves, but allows for a natural recolonization of the area by wolves. (28)
As of now, it is unlikely that wolves will be intentionally reintroduced by humans, but there is still the potential for wolf reintroduction in the future in some New England states.

Human Attitudes to Wolves' Potential Return

If wolves do return to New England, human attitudes towards them will most definitely play a role in determining whether or not they are deliberately reintroduced and/or how they are managed.
A 2002 study by Williams, et.al examined surveys of Americans' attitudes towards the potential return of wolves from 1972 to 2000 found the following:
- Positive Attitudes: A majority of those surveyed - 51% - had positive attitudes towards wolves, and 60% supported their possible reintroduction.
  - Positive attitudes towards wolves wer positively correlated with increased education and income levels of those surveyed.
  - Environmetnal and Wildlife Groups, unsurprisingly, showed an averge of 69% support.
  - People in urban areas typically had more positive attitudes towards wolves than those in rural areas.
  - People who have less experience with wolves are more likely to feel positive towards them. The study predicted that wolf reintroductions owuld likely reduce thir positivity as they gained more experience living with wolves.
- Negative Attitudes: The study found that ranch/farming occupation, rural residence, and age was negatively correlated with positive attitudes towards wolves
  - Only 35% of farmers and ranchers felt postive about wolves.
  - The negative rural attitudes towards wolves may be due, in part, to the idea that wolf reintroduction is largely supported by urban residents who won't have to live with the presence of the wolves and yet may be the deciding factor in the discussion of reintroduction.(10,20,42)

Photo Credit: Eric Cole USFWS

Credit: By dobak - https://www.flickr.com/photos/dobak/119671562/sizes/l/in/photostream/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39454335

Common Myths About Wolves

In the past, most humans have viewed wolves in a negative light as vicious, dangerous, cruel, and bothersome animals, as demonstrated by the widespread human efforts to eradicate wolves from the U.S. This changed, luckily, in the mid-twentieth century, as humans learned more about wovles, realized their importance to the ecosystem, and began to view them as a charismatic symbol of the wilderness they now wanted to protect rather than "tame". (10)
Throughout human history, our stories and myths, have painted wolves as evil, dangerous beings that kill humans, such as the stories of Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf, the legend of Werewolves, and even some Biblical passages that describe "a wolf in sheeps's clothing". There is still some fear that wolves could be a danger to humans, but there are been no documented human-deaths caused by non-rabid wild wolves in North America. Most wolves are actually shy of humans and avoid them. (10,33)
Many ranchers and farmers fear that if wolves return to an area they will kill their livestock, which is a valid concern as many wolves have been known to do that, even today. But, there are several federal programs that compensate farmers for any livestock killed by wolves, which may make coexisting with them a little easier.(29)
In the past, colonists viewed wolves as competition for prey, and some hunters are concerned that if wolves return there will be fewer animals to hunt. However, in states where wolves have returned, the majority of hunters still have positive attitudes towards wolves and express a hope that they will continue to live in the area. (10,20)
There is also some fear that wolves will require increased protected land areas that will limit development in areas that they return to. While more protected land is not necesarily a bad thing, the economic value of wolves as a result of tourism may outweigh any economic damage done by reduced development. (29)

Consequences of Wolves' Return

If wolves did return to New England, humans would have to learn to coexist with them in order to prevent problems and ensure their persistence in the area. Ways in which this can be accomplished include:
- Establishing councils with multiple interests represented (such as farmers, scientists, conservationists, government officials, ect.) that discuss and manage responses to wolf related problems. (12)
- Establishing livestock compensation programs and protocol for dealing with problem wolves. (12,29)
- Educating the public about the ecological benefits wolves bring, such as reducing "pest" populations like coyotes and white-tailed deer. (29)
- Warning people about how to protect their pets, such as preventing them from roaming around off-leash or outside of their yards.
If wolves return, it could result in widespread ecosystem changes in a "trophic cascade", as it would mean the return of a non-human apex, keystone predator to New England.
- First, the deer and other prey populations would be limited by the wolf populations, which may reduce human-conflict with those species and may increase the vegetation usually eaten by said prey. (8, 23)
- Additionally, mesopredators like coyotes would decrease due to competition. (29)
- Herbivores that compete with wolves' prey, such as beavers, could increase and futher change the ecoystem by altering the physical environment. (8)
- The return of the wolves to Yellowstone National Park did trigger a trophic cascade like the one described above - see the video below for a clear description of the changes that occured. (8)
- It is impossible to predict all the ways in which ecosystems may change as a result of the return of wolves, but it would mean some changes that New England would have to learn to cope with.