International Wolf Center reaches into the western United States
Wolves at Our Door goes to states with rebounding wolf numbers
Contact:
Chad Richardson, communications director
International Wolf Center
Office: 763-560-7374, ext. 225
[email protected]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Wolves have undeniably begun to reclaim portions of their historic range in the western United States. As their numbers in the western U.S. quickly grew after being reintroduced at Yellowstone National Park 24 years ago, education about these predators hasn’t always kept pace. The International Wolf Center is reaching out to help.
Without question, a great many organizations based in the western United States have worked to educate the public about wolves. But this problem is greater than any one organization can solve, so the International Wolf Center is expanding its popular Wolves at Our Door program to those western states.
The program educates more than 15,000 students in Minnesota every year. Now, the Center is teaching partnering organizations how to launch the program and share it with schools in their states. Two training sessions have been held with these organizations, including one in Ely, Minnesota, and Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, from June 10-13.
During that session, representatives from the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center in Oregon and Museum and the Sequoia Park Zoo in California were flown to Minneapolis and then driven by the Center to Ely. Over the next three days, those representatives got a full wolf education by retired Wisconsin wolf biologist Dick Thiel, as well as background on the program by the Center’s Outreach Director, Misi Stine. The group returned to the Twin Cities for further education with renowned wolf biologist Dr. Dave Mech, who founded the Center in 1985.
“There’s no question that many of those who live in the western United States have strong opinions about wolves,” said Chad Richardson, the Center’s Administrator. “For some, those opinions aren’t formed from facts but rather are formed from myths and fears. We’re trying to change that with these programs, which are based wholly on science.”
The Center has a unique aim, which is focused on advancing wolf populations by teaching the world about wolves. It presents many sides to the wolf debate during its Wolves at Our Door program and encourages attendees to make up their own minds about wolves, only after hearing the science-based facts.
“As I’ve traveled around Minnesota to present these programs, I’ve found two sources of misunderstanding,” said Stine, the Center’s Outreach Director. “When I speak to school children, their only exposure to wolves has typically been through fairy tales. When I speak to adults, many have formed their opinions based on what they heard in a 20-second newscast or through an exaggerated report on the evening news. So many people just don’t have the facts to support their strong opinions. Hopefully we can continue to fix that.”
Future training sessions are being planned by Stine involving organizations in the western United States.
The Western Wolves at Our Door project is funded with two grants, including one from The Margaret A. Cargill Fund at the Minnesota Community Foundation.
The International Wolf Center advances the survival of wolf populations by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands and the human role in their future. For more information about the International Wolf Center, visit wolf.org
Gene transcripts from ancient wolf analyzed after 14,000 years in permafrost
From Eurekalert.com:
RNA — the short-lived transcripts of genes — from the “Tumat puppy”, a wolf of the Pleistocene era has been isolated, and its sequence analyzed in a new study by Oliver Smith of the University of Copenhagen and colleagues publishing on July 30 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology. The results establish the possibility of examining a range of RNA transcripts from ancient organisms, a possibility previously thought to be extremely unlikely because of the short lifespan of RNA.
Click here for the full story.
Wolf trapper certification class coming to Billings, Montana
From KULR8.com:
A wolf trapper certification class scheduled for Billings aims to educate those willing to learn, how to properly trap and conserve in the state of Montana.
The class will be a comprehensive education session taught by FWP staff and experienced wolf trappers.
Click here for the full story.
Suitable habitats of Indian Grey Wolves in eastern India lie outside protected areas, says study
From ResearchMatters.in:
In February 2019, people from three villages in the Jhargram district of West Bengal feared a wolf that had attacked eight people. Local newspapers reported that in a neighbouring village, three men sitting around a fire were attacked by a wolf, and one of them later died at a hospital. The increasing incidents of wolf attacks in the region was a cause of concern for those working in the fields. Finally, a wolf trying to hunt a sheep in the village was captured by the locals and handed over to the authorities. Often, villagers retaliate by poisoning wolves or killing them when they find their livestock missing. However, data shows that more wolves are attacked and killed by humans than humans are by wolves. During the British rule, wolves were declared as vermin, and about 200,000 wolves were reportedly killed in India.
Click here for the full story.
Meet the first ever wolf-friendly town in Hungary
From Daily News Hungary:
In the past few years, lots of large carnivores settled down near the Hungarian town of Füzér, which has around 430 inhabitants. By now, there is probably a bigger pack of wolves and lynxes, which is why the local authorities decided to help the animals with a field of land on the border of the village designated specifically to them.
Click here for the full story.
Range war over wolves continues in Arizona
From the White Mountain Independent:
APACHE COUNTY — The range war between wolves and humans continues in Arizona and New Mexico, according to the latest report from Arizona Game and Fish.
From January to June, eight wolves died or were killed, out of a documented 2018 population of 131; two of the deaths occurred in Arizona.
Click here for the full story.
For second year in a row, Canada’s fragile Bow Valley wolf pack adds pups
From the Edmonton Sun:
For the second time in as many years, the fragile Bow Valley wolf pack has birthed a litter of pups.
While unknown how many have been born, Parks Canada wildlife ecologist Jesse Whittington estimated them to be around three months old.
Click here for the full story.
Gray Wolf Revival: Michigan A.G. Nessel Pushes Back Against Removal from Endangered List
From 9and10news.com:
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is pushing back against a federal plan to drop gray wolves from the endangered species list.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says gray wolf populations have recovered in the lower 48 states, so the agency wants to hand off the responsibility of managing the species to states.
Click here for the full story.
Controversial Wisconsin billboard addresses wolf depredation compensation
From WMTV in Madison, Wisconsin:
MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) — A new billboard on a heavily traveled Madison road takes up a contentious issue: wolves that kill hunting dogs or pets, and the compensation that goes along with it.
The billboard sits near the corner of East Washington Avenue and Stoughton Road, headed northeast toward I-90. It reads, “Wisconsin pays hunters who let wolves kill their dogs.”
Click here for the full story.
New survey methods will help produce the first estimate of Idaho’s total wolf numbers since 2015
From the Idaho County Free Press:
How many wolves are on the landscape in Idaho? That’s an often-asked question that Idaho Fish and Game is aiming to answer using game cameras during a new statewide population monitoring program.
In recent months, Fish and Game staff have deployed over 800 game cameras in a high-density grid throughout the state, which will take millions of pictures. When Fish and Game staff collect the cameras at the end of September, researchers will download and analyze the photos and apply statistical modeling to estimate the population.
Click here for the full story.
International Wolf Center reaches into the western United States
International Wolf Center reaches into the western United States
Wolves at Our Door goes to states with rebounding wolf numbers
Contact:
Chad Richardson, communications director
International Wolf Center
Office: 763-560-7374, ext. 225
[email protected]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Wolves have undeniably begun to reclaim portions of their historic range in the western United States. As their numbers in the western U.S. quickly grew after being reintroduced at Yellowstone National Park 24 years ago, education about these predators hasn’t always kept pace. The International Wolf Center is reaching out to help.
Without question, a great many organizations based in the western United States have worked to educate the public about wolves. But this problem is greater than any one organization can solve, so the International Wolf Center is expanding its popular Wolves at Our Door program to those western states.
The program educates more than 15,000 students in Minnesota every year. Now, the Center is teaching partnering organizations how to launch the program and share it with schools in their states. Two training sessions have been held with these organizations, including one in Ely, Minnesota, and Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, from June 10-13.
During that session, representatives from the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center in Oregon and Museum and the Sequoia Park Zoo in California were flown to Minneapolis and then driven by the Center to Ely. Over the next three days, those representatives got a full wolf education by retired Wisconsin wolf biologist Dick Thiel, as well as background on the program by the Center’s Outreach Director, Misi Stine. The group returned to the Twin Cities for further education with renowned wolf biologist Dr. Dave Mech, who founded the Center in 1985.
“There’s no question that many of those who live in the western United States have strong opinions about wolves,” said Chad Richardson, the Center’s Administrator. “For some, those opinions aren’t formed from facts but rather are formed from myths and fears. We’re trying to change that with these programs, which are based wholly on science.”
The Center has a unique aim, which is focused on advancing wolf populations by teaching the world about wolves. It presents many sides to the wolf debate during its Wolves at Our Door program and encourages attendees to make up their own minds about wolves, only after hearing the science-based facts.
“As I’ve traveled around Minnesota to present these programs, I’ve found two sources of misunderstanding,” said Stine, the Center’s Outreach Director. “When I speak to school children, their only exposure to wolves has typically been through fairy tales. When I speak to adults, many have formed their opinions based on what they heard in a 20-second newscast or through an exaggerated report on the evening news. So many people just don’t have the facts to support their strong opinions. Hopefully we can continue to fix that.”
Future training sessions are being planned by Stine involving organizations in the western United States.
The Western Wolves at Our Door project is funded with two grants, including one from The Margaret A. Cargill Fund at the Minnesota Community Foundation.
The International Wolf Center advances the survival of wolf populations by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands and the human role in their future. For more information about the International Wolf Center, visit wolf.org