Conservation Status of the Gray Wolf in the United States

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Conservation Status of the Gray Wolf in the United States

Post by Koa » Mon Apr 20, 2015 1:39 pm

Conservation Status of the Gray Wolf in the United States
Gray wolves (Canis lupus) are delisted within the continental United States and Mexico. The Mexican gray wolf subspecies, C. l. baileyi, remains endangered and is excluded from the 01/04/21 delisting.


Endangered (E) :
"A species 'in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.'"

ENDANGERED in no states on a species level. Subspecies C. l. baileyi remains endangered.

Threatened (T):
" A species 'likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.'"

THREATENED in no states.


Delisted:
"Species that has been removed from the list due to recovery, original data in error, or extinction."

DELISTED effective 01/04/21 in the states of Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Vermont and West Virginia; and portions of Arizona, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, North Dakota, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, and Washington. Mexico.
  • Previously, wolves were considered ENDANGERED in these states.
DELISTED effective 01/04/21 in the states of Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
  • Previously, federal protections had been restored to gray wolves in these Great Lakes states under the THREATENED status in 2014 after being delisted in 2012.
DELISTED in the states of Idaho, Montana, and in portions of eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and north central Utah (2011). Wyoming's wolves were delisted in 2012, and then classified under EXPN, XN (experimental non-essential population) in 2014.


Population Statistics:

Great Lakes region:
Minnesota: 2,278 2016 >> 2,856 2017 >> 2,655 2019
Wisconsin: 925 2016 >> 905 2017 914-978 2019
Michigan: 618 2016

Northern Rocky Mountain region:
Idaho: 786 2016 >> 1,541 2020
Montana: 447 2016 >> 663 2017 >> 819 2019
Wyoming: 377 2016 >> 347 2017 >> 311 2020
Oregon: 112 2016 >> 124 2017 158 2019
Washington: 90 2015 >> 122 2017 108 2019
Utah: 10>

Western U.S.:
California: 9> 2016 >> 8 2017

Non-continental U.S.:
Alaska: 7,000-11,000 2020

Last updated 7/28/2021

Resources:
Species Recovery Profile for Gray wolf (Canis lupus)
Western Gray Wolf: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Species Status Codes

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Re: Conservation Status of the Gray Wolf in the United State

Post by PeltOfAsh » Mon Apr 20, 2015 1:43 pm

This is really good to know! Thanks Koa!

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Re: Conservation Status of the Gray Wolf in the United State

Post by Koa » Mon Apr 20, 2015 1:48 pm

CaffeineCollie wrote:This is really good to know! Thanks Koa!
There was an older topic awhile back that did mention conservation status but did so on a subspecies-basis. I thought I'd compile all of the information from those three pages and summarize the status information/recent developments accordingly. Hopefully this will be helpful in the event of any more changes to their status.

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Re: Conservation Status of the Gray Wolf in the United State

Post by PeltOfAsh » Mon Apr 20, 2015 1:51 pm

Yeah, I imagine having it all in one place will be convenient!
Edit to fix coding XP
Last edited by PeltOfAsh on Mon Apr 20, 2015 1:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Conservation Status of the Gray Wolf in the United State

Post by Koa » Mon Apr 20, 2015 1:55 pm

CaffeineCollie wrote:
Yeah, I imagine having it all in one place will be convenient!
I hope so. I will update this thread with population statistics to provide some context.

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Re: Conservation Status of the Gray Wolf in the United State

Post by D0m » Sun Jun 14, 2015 10:53 am

I find this quite informative, thank you Koa for putting you time into keeping this updated!
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Re: Conservation Status of the Gray Wolf in the United State

Post by Koa » Sun Jun 14, 2015 11:17 am

LupaValdo2001-2014 wrote:I find this quite informative, thank you Koa for putting you time into keeping this updated!
Thanks; glad you find it helpful. I will be keeping a close eye on statuses, but updates for populations may vary.

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Re: Conservation Status of the Gray Wolf in the United State

Post by D0m » Sun Jun 14, 2015 1:13 pm

Koa wrote:
LupaValdo2001-2014 wrote:I find this quite informative, thank you Koa for putting you time into keeping this updated!
Thanks; glad you find it helpful. I will be keeping a close eye on statuses, but updates for populations may vary.
I understand. I'm glad that someone could have the dedication to actually do this!
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Re: Conservation Status of the Gray Wolf in the United State

Post by MimpiDreams » Wed Sep 02, 2015 12:39 pm

LupaValdo2001-2014 wrote:
Koa wrote:
LupaValdo2001-2014 wrote:I find this quite informative, thank you Koa for putting you time into keeping this updated!
Thanks; glad you find it helpful. I will be keeping a close eye on statuses, but updates for populations may vary.
I understand. I'm glad that someone could have the dedication to actually do this!
Yep you're right.
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Re: Conservation Status of the Gray Wolf in the United State

Post by foxesandwolvessouls » Thu Nov 05, 2015 2:36 pm

All I know from in California there as been a very small pack just near Oregon. I believe that here is about 5 wolves. Considering its a new pack. California might have wolves growing somewhere. c:
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Re: Conservation Status of the Gray Wolf in the United State

Post by Tundra17 » Fri Mar 11, 2016 12:18 am

I wish there was a way to create more national parks or at least bring back wolves in there original/threatened regions .
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Re: Conservation Status of the Gray Wolf in the United State

Post by Koa » Fri Jun 30, 2017 6:34 am

foxesandwolvessouls wrote:All I know from in California there as been a very small pack just near Oregon. I believe that here is about 5 wolves. Considering its a new pack. California might have wolves growing somewhere. c:
Yeah, I believe there is a pack; I will update this list soon.
Tundra17 wrote:I wish there was a way to create more national parks or at least bring back wolves in there original/threatened regions .
The numbers may seem low but wolves in the U.S. are actually doing quite well; there are some animal species in the world that don't have the luxury of population that the wolf has.
Restoring wolves to their "original" areas can be problematic. The land is certainly not what it used to be. Where wolves once roamed, human population density may be higher than it was, etc.

EDIT 6/30/2017: The first post has been updated.

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Re: Conservation Status of the Gray Wolf in the United State

Post by Noctis_ » Mon May 14, 2018 12:58 am

I was considering creating a new topic giving information on the wolf's status in Washington state specifically, in case anyone was curious after the extermination of the Profanity Peak pack a few years ago, but decided to post the information as a reply here, since having a separate topic for the wolf status in every state would clutter this forum. The following are current and former Washington state wolf packs, as of December 2017:

Confirmed Wolf Packs, Eastern Washington: Beaver Creek, Carpenter Ridge, Dirty Shirt, Five Sisters, Frosty (CCT), Goodman Meadows, Grouse Flats, Huckleberry, Leadpoint, Nc'icn, Salmo, Smackout, Stranger, Strawberry, Togo, Touchet, Tucannon, Wedge, Whitestone
Confirmed Wolf Packs, Northern Cascades: Lookout, Loup Loup, Teanaway
Former Wolf Packs: Diamond, Profanity Peak, Sherman, Skookum, Wenatchee

A map of the current pack's locations, and further information on each pack, can be found here: https://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/gray_wolf/packs/

The following is information concerning Washington’s Gray Wolf Conservation and Management Plan:

Washington’s Gray Wolf Conservation and Management Plan guides recovery of wolves as they naturally re-establish a sustainable population across the state, and authorizes management tools to address conflicts with livestock and other wildlife.

Key elements of the plan include:

Recovery goals: The plan establishes a delisting objective of 15 breeding pairs of wolves that are present in the state for at least three years, with at least four in Eastern Washington, four in the northern Cascades, four in the southern Cascades/Northwest coastal area, and three others anywhere in the state. The plan also provides for WDFW to consider initiating the delisting process if 18 breeding pairs are documented during a single year, and the distribution objectives are met.
Livestock protection: The plan provides a variety of nonlethal and lethal management measures - from technical assistance for landowners to lethal removal - to control wolves that prey on livestock. The plan also establishes conditions for compensating ranchers who lose livestock to wolf predation.
Wildlife protection: The plan allows WDFW to use lethal and non-lethal measures to manage wolf predation on at-risk ungulate populations if wolf numbers reach or exceed the recovery objective within a region where predation occurs.
The plan was developed with the assistance of a 17-member advisory citizen Wolf Working Group over nearly five years (2007 – 2011), with extensive public review (23 public meetings, nearly 65,000 comments submitted), and a blind scientific peer review. The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission unanimously adopted the plan in December 2011.
All aspects of the plan are in effect east of Highways 97, 17 and 395, where wolves were removed from federal protection in May 2011. In the rest of Washington, portions of the plan that are consistent with federal law are in effect. Federal law supercedes the state plan until wolves are delisted under the federal Endangered Species Act.
The plan covers management of wolves while they are a state listed species. A new management plan will be developed after the species is delisted.
No wolves have ever been reintroduced into Washington, and under the plan, WDFW will not import wolves from other states or Canada.

Information about the wolf's history and current situation in the state can be found here, https://www.fws.gov/wafwo/Documents/Gra ... ne2017.pdf, and here: https://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/gray_w ... ngton.html
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Re: Conservation Status of the Gray Wolf in the United State

Post by Koa » Tue Jun 05, 2018 8:15 am

Noctis_ wrote:I was considering creating a new topic giving information on the wolf's status in Washington state specifically, in case anyone was curious after the extermination of the Profanity Peak pack a few years ago, but decided to post the information as a reply here, since having a separate topic for the wolf status in every state would clutter this forum. The following are current and former Washington state wolf packs, as of December 2017:

Confirmed Wolf Packs, Eastern Washington: Beaver Creek, Carpenter Ridge, Dirty Shirt, Five Sisters, Frosty (CCT), Goodman Meadows, Grouse Flats, Huckleberry, Leadpoint, Nc'icn, Salmo, Smackout, Stranger, Strawberry, Togo, Touchet, Tucannon, Wedge, Whitestone
Confirmed Wolf Packs, Northern Cascades: Lookout, Loup Loup, Teanaway
Former Wolf Packs: Diamond, Profanity Peak, Sherman, Skookum, Wenatchee

A map of the current pack's locations, and further information on each pack, can be found here: https://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/gray_wolf/packs/

The following is information concerning Washington’s Gray Wolf Conservation and Management Plan:

Washington’s Gray Wolf Conservation and Management Plan guides recovery of wolves as they naturally re-establish a sustainable population across the state, and authorizes management tools to address conflicts with livestock and other wildlife.

Key elements of the plan include:

Recovery goals: The plan establishes a delisting objective of 15 breeding pairs of wolves that are present in the state for at least three years, with at least four in Eastern Washington, four in the northern Cascades, four in the southern Cascades/Northwest coastal area, and three others anywhere in the state. The plan also provides for WDFW to consider initiating the delisting process if 18 breeding pairs are documented during a single year, and the distribution objectives are met.
Livestock protection: The plan provides a variety of nonlethal and lethal management measures - from technical assistance for landowners to lethal removal - to control wolves that prey on livestock. The plan also establishes conditions for compensating ranchers who lose livestock to wolf predation.
Wildlife protection: The plan allows WDFW to use lethal and non-lethal measures to manage wolf predation on at-risk ungulate populations if wolf numbers reach or exceed the recovery objective within a region where predation occurs.
The plan was developed with the assistance of a 17-member advisory citizen Wolf Working Group over nearly five years (2007 – 2011), with extensive public review (23 public meetings, nearly 65,000 comments submitted), and a blind scientific peer review. The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission unanimously adopted the plan in December 2011.
All aspects of the plan are in effect east of Highways 97, 17 and 395, where wolves were removed from federal protection in May 2011. In the rest of Washington, portions of the plan that are consistent with federal law are in effect. Federal law supercedes the state plan until wolves are delisted under the federal Endangered Species Act.
The plan covers management of wolves while they are a state listed species. A new management plan will be developed after the species is delisted.
No wolves have ever been reintroduced into Washington, and under the plan, WDFW will not import wolves from other states or Canada.

Information about the wolf's history and current situation in the state can be found here, https://www.fws.gov/wafwo/Documents/Gra ... ne2017.pdf, and here: https://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/gray_w ... ngton.html
Thanks; I plan to include links to each state's plan when I get a chance. Going to update numbers now.

EDIT: Washington's most recent wolf numbers are below.
https://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01979/

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Re: Conservation Status of the Gray Wolf in the United State

Post by 2wolf22 » Thu Jul 12, 2018 9:13 pm

At least they are doing well in some states! :D this is great info. Thanks for researching it all!

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