Hello, welcome and good day!
Oregon Wolf
Pack Story
Get this. Since the 1940’s, gray wolves have straight up vanished from the face of Oregon due to government-sponsored eradication campaigns, which included, I kid you not: actual bounty hunting. 1947 was the year Oregon paid the last wolf bounty in order to wipe out the last known wolf from the state. Ick.
Fast forward to one of my personal favorite laws: the 1973 Endangered Species Act (ESA) that essentially made it illegal to kill wolves. From that point, it took all the way until 2008 for Oregon to have any known breeding wolf packs. In September 2011, a kick ass wolf known as OR-7 embarked on a journey where he traveled over 1,000 miles from northeastern Oregon across the difficult terrain of the Cascades all the way down to California to find a mate. In December 2011, he was the first confirmed wolf in California in over 90 whopping years. 2014, he found his mate, came back north, and formed the Rouge Pack in southern Oregon.
But other states continue their wolf-slaughtering ways. In 2021 federal protections for wolves were removed in Montana and Idaho. Thousandsof wolf buddies have been killed in those states since. Oregon protections still stand, but the threat of reversing protections looms hard. Ranchers and my not so favorite political faces argue wolves threaten livestock. Conservationists argue wolves have a vital role in restoring balance to fragile ecosystems.
Background
Once upon a time, the gray wolf of North America was a key predator ranging from the Arctic tundra all the way down to Mexico. The glorious gray wolf played a crucial role in maintaining the ecological balancing act by regulating prey populations like deer and elk. This helped preserve vegetation and support a wonderland of biodiversity.
The tale takes a dark turn in the 1800s and throughout the 1900s, when wolves were systematically hunted by European settlers and governments across the U.S. and Canada. Wolves had bounties held ruthlessly upon their sweet-sweet heads and for many years were trapped, shot, and poisoned. This almost completely eradicated them in the lower 48 states. On top of all that nonsense, human development expanded and wolves lost access to their habitat. The fragmentation of their habitat made it difficult to find decent prey and maintain viable populations.
The Bullshit
As if all that wasn’t enough for wolves to hassle with, they were also up against humans’ make-believe stories fueled by silly fears and bullshitty gossip, where we cast wolves in the role of being dangerous to humans and responsible for widespread livestock loss. In reality, livestock killed by wolves are relatively rare compared to the majority of causes like disease, birthing complications and weather. For example, in 2021, Idaho had about 100 livestock lost to wolves, but had tens of thousands lost to disease and weather. Regarding the wolf attacking human poppycock: there have been very few wolf attacks on humans in over 100 years. We’re more likely to get killed by a dog. Capiche?
Ecological Impact
Not only is it morally outrageous to eradicate the beloved gray wolf in any way, shape or form, it also turns out that it’s actually very, very bad for us humans to do this. The systematic removal of gray wolves from most of North America has caused significant ecological imbalances. Let me remind you, ecological imbalances cause big, big problems for all of us sharing this beloved planet. And it causes problems for our little wallets too.
For example, overgrazing and overbrowsing by herbivores like elk and deer have damaged vegetation, including young trees and riparian vegetation, since wolves haven’t been around to regulate the populations. Why is that bad? Well, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana and Colorado each spent millions trying to control deer and elk populations through human culling or hunting incentives in order to restore habitats damaged by overbrowsing. When herbivores overgraze, they exhaust essential food sources, which can cause starvation and trigger soil erosion, ultimately weakening the entire ecosystem. Some states took steps to prevent starvation, repair fences, control weeds and invasive species, aid fire recovery, and restore winter ranges. Ecosystems out of balance often require these kinds of high-priced human interventions that nature would otherwise have done for free had people not mowed down entire wolf populations in the first place. Oh, and when I mention that these states spend and continue to spend millions, I’m talking tax monies from our little wallets.
Photo by Brianna R. on Unsplash
A thriving wolf population not only save millions of our tax
monies, they also indirectly support pollinators, birds, fish, and beavers. When
wolves prey on deer and elk, so that they don’t overgraze, plants can flourish
and provide nectar for bees, butterflies and healthy insect populations, so
that more wildflowers and shrubs can grow. These thriving plants can then
create nesting sites and cover for songbirds and eagles. Vegetation along the
riverbanks can then stabilize, which reduces erosion and whatnot, creating a
better habitat for fish. When shrubs and trees flourish, sweet beavers have
more building material and food, where they can then create ponds and wetlands
which benefit amphibians, water purification, and groundwater recharge. At the
end of the day, wolves are a key player in human health. Biodiversity is indeed
essential to ecosystem resilience and productivity, which supports our human
needs like clean air and water, flood prevention, and disease regulation. Who
doesn’t want clean water and even one less disease to worry about?
Photo by Transly Translation Agency on Unsplash
The Ray of Light in the Darkness
The takeaway I’ve gathered on behalf of the unfortunate wolf snip-snapping of annihilation and protection over the centuries is that humans aren’t as limp and powerless about this nonsense as we think we are. We actually have agency in these matters and it shows up in the wolf story.
1800s-1900s, humans decided to wipe out wolves. We did. In 1996, people decided to reintroduce wolves back into their motherland in Yellowstone and central Idaho. The project surpassed expectations. Wolf populations grew rapidly and formed stable packs. Hell yeah! Wolves helped regulate elk populations, which allowed overgrazed vegetation like willows and aspen to recover. The wolves’ return to their ancestral lands supported a resurgence of diverse species and healthier rivers, forests, and plains. Songbirds, beavers, and fish habitats increased, indicating just how profoundly wolves restore entire ecosystems. The delightful and very much free natural check-and-balance system came back. This reduced the need for human intervention sponsored by our tax dollars.
Photo by Yannick Menard on Unsplash
Have I mentioned humans are really bad at balancing the ecosystem by ourselves? We need every other animal to help us. Every single time we slaughter down the wolves, the entire ecosystem deteriorates. We bring back the wolves, the ecosystem restores. I am telling you, that is not a coincidence.
The 1996 wolf-reintroduction project became a model for large carnivore recovery worldwide and showed that human-led rewilding efforts can succeed with public support and ecological planning. We actually do have ability and choice. The project was so successful that wolves have been delisted due to recovery, but protections remain in flux and controversial. Even though wolves aren’t out of danger, I am telling you this is where the hope lies. When humans take these measures. You. Me. We can take care of business and help wolves, help our buddies, help our ecosystems, one project at a time.
Challenges and
Controversies
You’d think that restoring the wolf populations is a no brainer for every single being that drinks water. Everyone wants to drink clean water and nobody wants to worry about getting one more disease. But here’s where the controversy hovers. Ranchers and farmers often oppose wolf reintroduction due to their concerns about wolves preying on cattle and sheep. Which they do, but the numbers are much lower than deaths due to weather and disease problems. And some states offer compensation programs for livestock losses.
Rural communities often are the ones feeling the (limited) cost of livestock loss from wolves. In some rural areas, wolves are now legally hunted or trapped, raising ethical and conservation concerns. Urban populations tend to support wolf recovery, because people in cities usually don’t have sheep in their yards and so have no reason to want wolves to be killed. This ends up creating cultural and political polarizations over wolf policy.
Photo by Robert Larsson on Unsplash
And on top of all of that, wolves face barriers to their migration from roads and human development. This limits genetic flow between populations and poses long-term risks for healthy biodiversity.
The Endangered Species Act has added wolves to the endangered list in order reinforce protection. But they frequently get delisted, re-added, snip-snap, snip-snap, multiple times, depending on who’s at the head of the political table.
Basically, where we’re at is that conservationists call for science-based policy and coexistence strategies. Opponents push for local control, fewer federal protections, and more aggressive wolf population management. Excuse me, why am I using soft language? What I mean to say is that opponents want to push for wolf obliteration via whatever murder fantasy they see fit. That wording feels more accurate.
Yes, this shit is difficult to navigate, especially when we have a sense of powerless, indifference or simply want to pass the buck. It’s not impossible though. As long as we have that sparkle of hope, we can at least try to unjam our heads out of the very tiny boxes of our limited human perspectives. Myself included. If we can manage that, I think we can continue down the path started in 1996, when we reintroduced wolves back into their ancestral land.
Politics at it again.
As of March 2025, two proposed bills in Congress could have serious impacts on gray wolf protections across the United States.
H.R. 845: To Remove Federal Wolf Protections. The bill aims to yet again delist gray wolves nationwide from the Endangered Species Act. The bugaboo about this is that states would gain full control over wolf populations, which in places like Idaho or Montana has led to aggressive hunting, trapping, and poisoning. Montana authorized 250-300 wolf kills in the 2023-2024 season. This bill also overrides scientific review. No surprise there since science might be taking a vacation for some time while our values start matching up with Dark Ages values. Science-Shmiance sums up the view of our current leaders. Also, like I mentioned earlier, when states try to manage the ecosystem without the wolf population doing what they are born to do, it costs that state fat stacks of millions. Healthy wolf populations save states millions. Just saying. Update. This bill did indeed become law on 4/9/25.
Another very bad bill is H.R. 1897: ESA Amendments Act of 2025. This bill seeks to drain the Endangered Species Act by giving more power to states. Unfortunately, thanks to lobbyists for agriculture and industry, who only think about the shortest of short-terms, states have proved that they will not consider long-term ecological health, which is the thing you and me need to eat, breath, be regular, and not get a funky disease. All these rich politicians consider is how much more money and/or power they will have next week. Passing this bill threatens all endangered species, not just wolves, by making it harder to list and protect vulnerable animals. Let me remind you, messing with the animals of the ecosystem messes with all of us. This bill has not yet passed, but it just needs to get passed by a very currently red and conservative house, senate and executive branch.
Where’s the Hope?
As “Back to the Dark Ages” as of all this sounds and as much nonsense that we are actually up against in order to do good in this world, the journey is not over. All we have to do is work within the broken ass systems that we are provided with. If we were able to do that in 1996, we can do it again in 2025. We are just as human as those 1996 people. I promise you.
Every time wolves are threatened, hundreds of thousands of people speak up. Ranging from lawsuits to community meetings to education campaigns, everyday citizens and scientists keep the issue in the spotlight. This collective voice has blocked harmful legislation in the past and restored protections before. We can do this again. We don’t have to French Revolutionize this shit, but we do have to do something if we don’t want to dumpster fire our home we call Earth.
Photo by Robert Thiemann on Unsplash
Gray wolves were essentially erased from the lower 48 states by the 1940s. Against all odds, they came back. Thanks to the Endangered Species Act and decades of relentless conservation work, they began to return and today they are slowly re-establishing in places they haven’t been seen in nearly a century.
In places like Oregon and Washington, many ranchers, conservationists, and tribal nations are working together and developing non-lethal methods to protect livestock. They’re doing things like using range riders, deterrents, and better fencing. These practices show that coexistence is possible when there is political will and public support.
The revitalization of our wolf populations proves that
when we break something, we can restore it, and that extinction doesn’t have to
be the shitty end of the story. We have changed and can continue to change the
direction of the wolf story. We can change the ending of the story by
understanding that we are not powerless. We can maintain the momentum from 1996,
when we took radical steps to restore the way things once were. We owe it to
the wolves. And we owe it to ourselves because humans aren’t separate from
nature, we are part of it. And we have a responsibility to steward it wisely.
And personally, I think that’s one of the most meaningful ways to spend a
lifetime.
WHAT CAN WE DO? *
Heck yeah there are actions we can take to avoid a really bad ending, not just for the wolves but for ourselves. Just pick one action off the list below or one that pops into your brain and try it once or if you really like it, maybe integrate it into your life. For my part, I’m going to try hard to learn about these topics and write stories in a way that is digestible and share them.
- Support Conservation Organizations: Donate to or volunteer with groups working on wolf protection, such as: • Defenders of Wildlife • Center for Biological Diversity •Wolf Conservation Center
- Advocate for Legal Protections: Write to elected officials to support the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and oppose legislation that weakens it. Ask your representatives to support science-based management of wolf populations and oppose trophy hunting laws.
- Raise Awareness: Share factual information about wolves on social media or in your community. (Maybe, I don’t know, share something like this article, cough cough.) Correct myths about wolves being dangerous to people and educate others about wolves' essential role in healthy ecosystems.
- Vote with Wildlife in Mind: Vote for leaders and policies that prioritize wildlife conservation and science-driven environmental policy. Support ballot measures (like in Colorado) that aim to reintroduce wolves or protect habitats.
- Educate Yourself and Others: Read books, watch documentaries (like "The Return of the Wolves", "How Wolves Change Rivers"), and attend public talks or webinars. Help shift the public perception of wolves from dangerous pests to vital ecological partners.
- Protect and Restore Habitat: Support land conservation efforts and sustainable land use practices that preserve wilderness corridors for wolves and their prey. Participate in or donate to organizations doing habitat restoration.
- Speak Up Locally: Attend town hall meetings or state wildlife commission sessions when wolf policies are discussed. Help your community understand coexistence strategies (like proper livestock guarding, deterrents, and non-lethal management).
- Support Predator-Friendly Agriculture: Buy products from predator-friendly farms and ranches that use non-lethal deterrents instead of killing wolves. Support food brands and food-labeling efforts that partner with wildlife conservationists.
Wrap it up
This isn't just about wolves. It’s about how we respond when we break something precious. It’s about how humans can evolve — from dominators to guardians. From colonizers to coexisters. It’s about whether we leave future generations a world filled with silence and scarcity — or one alive with howls in the distance, rivers lined with willows, and forests pulsing with life. The wolf story teaches us that repair is possible. And that what we do matters.
Photo by Milo Weiler on Unsplash
Killing wolves is poppycock!
ReplyDelete