Northern Rockies wolf restoration has been a remarkable wildlife success. In recent years, pack and breeding pair numbers have approached sustainability. There is evidence that residents are adapting to wolves—example after example of ranchers, farmers, hunters and conservationists learning to live with and appreciate these animals in the same way they would a bear, elk or mule deer. Living with wolves and other wildlife is part of life in the West, and we believe that the citizens of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and surrounding states can manage wolves in our region by working together. Unfortunately, there is still much misunderstanding and even hatred of wolves that has plagued this species for centuries.
Established in 2008, the Western Wolf Coalition is a source of networking for wildlife organizations across the northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest. Representing 20 local, state, regional and national organizations, the coalition is building a grassroots activist network to engage our collective supporters and members in state wildlife actions that impact wolves in the region. We have also recruited new activists through events and activist training workshops throughout the region. As a result, wolf conservation supporters are attending and speaking at hearings, writing letters to officials, and through newspapers and online communication in growing numbers and with a clear focus on important and effective messages to help counter anti-wolf misinformation campaigns. The member organizations of the coalition agree with most westerners that the next important step in wolf recovery is sound state management. To make that happen, though, the people of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Oregon and Washington must press for scientifically justified management plans—plans based not on rhetoric or politics, but on the volumes of wolf and wildlife management data that dispel myths and reinforce the conservation of this important but much maligned species.
Toward that end, the Western Wolf Coalition works with biologists, hunters, ranchers, tribal leaders and other citizens to inform the public about wolf behavior and patterns, and reduce wolf-related conflicts. Our goal? To ensure a healthy, sustainable wolf population across the region.
Coalition member groups currently include:
If you’d like to help support our efforts, please do so by supporting Defenders of Wildlife (our fiscal agent for donations) and noting that the donation is for the Western Wolf Coalition on the check. You can also help by writing letters to public officials and editors in your area, attending and speaking out at public hearings, and many other ways.
Here are examples of our ads placed in newspapers and websites in the region. If you would like to help by placing one of these ads on your website, blog or local newspaper, please contact us by email at: info@westernwolves.org.
"Reality" newspaper ad
All photographs of wolves on this website are of wolves living in the wild. The Western Wolf Coalition would like to thank the following photographers for allowing use of their photography throughout this site:
Diane Hargreaves
Mark Miller
Jesse Timberlake
Lava Lake Land & Livestock
snapvillage.com
Suzanne Stone
Leo Keeler
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