National Wolf Recovery Plan

Post date: May 6, 2015 9:10:02 PM

A National Wolf Recovery Plan has been proposed by Michigan Tech environmental scientist and wolf expert John Vucetich et al.

It would define clear boundaries for "Gray Wolf range," continue to assist livestock producers and pet owners in avoiding and recovering from losses, and--as long as necessary within the newly-defined boundaries--maintain protections for the Gray Wolf under the U.S. Endangered Species Act as a "threatened" species (thus allowing lethal depredation control).

An alternative proposal for a blanket downlisting of the Gray Wolf to an ESA status of "threatened" has been reviewed in an other blog entry here.

This proposal for a National Wolf Recovery Plan, in contrast to the simple downlisting proposal more thoroughly thought-through and well-balanced, is what's needed to allow this nation and its State wildlife-management agencies to proceed with wolf recovery and conservation.

References

Vucetich, John A., Jeremy T. Bruskotter, M. P. Nelson, and M. Phillips. 2015. "Framework For Envisioning Gray Wolf Recovery."

This "framework" document by Vucetich et al. is apparently a work in progress. As of 1/14/2017, it doesn't seem to be available at its original URL. Hopefully, an updated version will be available from the authors.

Lamplugh, Rick. 2015. "Let's Build a National Wolf Recovery Plan." Rick Lamplugh.

This blog entry by Rick Lamplugh referred to and partially summarized the "framework" document by Vucetich et al.

Humane Society of the United States, Center for Biological Diversity, Fund for Animals, and Born Free USA. 2015. "Petition to Reclassify Gray Wolves as Threatened in the Conterminus United States Under the Endangered Species Act." http://midwestadvocates.org/assets/resources/Wolf%20Quota/Gray_Wolf_Downlisting_Petition___FINAL_%2801_27_15%29.pdf

This document supports the petition to list the Gray Wolf as "threatened" in the lower-48 states. It includes a summary of the "framework" document by Vucetich et al.

Vucetich_Bruskotter_EtAl_2015-01-13_NationalWolfRecoveryPlan_Map

Wolf recovery map from the "framework" document by Vucetich et al. It divides the lower-48 states into four regions with different natural histories involving man and wolf, identifies pockets of surviving wolf populations, pinpoints areas of high human density, and proposes potential wolf recovery areas.