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Protecting Imperiled Wolves in the Great Lakes Region Through Compassionate Conservation
- Nature Conservation
- Wildlife
- Women
- Grasslands
- Ecosystem Restoration
- Species Rewilding
- Northern America Realm
| Bioregion | Northern Great Lakes Forests (NA11) |
| Category | Nature Conservation Our project categories represent one of three core solutions pathways to solving climate change. Energy Transition focuses on renewable energy access and energy efficiency. Nature Conservation includes wildlife habitat protection and ecosystem restoration, as well as Indigenous land rights. Regenerative Agriculture supports farmers, ranchers, and community agriculture. |
| Realm | Northern America The Project Marketplace is organized by the major terrestrial realms divided into 14 biogeographical regions – N. America, Subarctic America, C. America, S. America, Afrotropics, Indomalaya, Australasia, Oceania, Antarctica, and the Palearctic realm, which coincides with Eurasia and is divided into Subarctic, Western, Central, Eastern, and Southern regions. |
| Status | urgent Seed indicates an early stage project that needs some level of support to develop into a larger funding proposal. Active indicates any project that needs core programmatic funding. Urgent indicates a short-term project initiated in response to a natural disaster or other impending risk. |
| Partner | Project Coyote |
One Earth’s Project Marketplace funds on-the-ground climate solutions that are key to solving the climate crisis through three pillars of collective action — renewable energy, nature conservation, and regenerative agriculture.
While a federal judge has reversed the Trump Administration-era legislation of removing grey wolves from the Endangered Species List, wolves are in crisis in the US. They still are cruelly trophy-hunted, trapped, and targets in many states like Wisconsin.
Wolves are only safe as long as federal protections remain, and history shows that they often do not stay long. As apex predators that play vital ecological roles in promoting biodiversity and ecosystem health, wolves need long-term, permanent protections and a national recovery plan to stop egregious killing across their range.
Enhanced local support for wolves is required, regardless of federal status, to ensure long-term recovery and decrease legal and illegal killing that jeopardizes wolf populations, their families, and their genetic viability in the future.
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Project Coyote Science Advisory Board members convene in Yellowstone National Park to strategize on carnivore conservation and rewilding the Northern Rockies. (alt. caption if we want to mention the late great Michael Soulé: Project Coyote Science Advisory Board members convene in Yellowstone National Park to strategize on carnivore conservation and rewilding the Northern Rockies- including the late Dr. Michael Soulé ~ considered the father of conservation biology. Image credit: Courtesy of Caroline Kraus
Project Coyote focuses its immediate wolf protection efforts in strategic regions where they are most threatened by intolerance and political ill will.
The main goals of this project are to 1) create a robust, science-based national recovery plan, 2) establish federal legislation and permanent protections, and 3) promote respect and appreciation for wolves and their vital ecological role through media, social media, film, videos, billboards, grassroots outreach, etc.
These goals will be achieved through:
- An outreach campaign: appealing to the Department of Interior Secretary for a recovery plan using Science Advisors' expert testimony.
- Public opinion research: identifying the best communication practices for target audiences.
- Lobbyists: finding federal sponsors for legislative protection and local and remote organizers.
- Purchases: deploying non-lethal deterrence toolkits with in-person workshops.
- Lawsuits: challenging Wisconsin wolf policies using public trust doctrine and challenging Act 169 that requires a wolf hunt.
The most direct beneficiaries of wolf protection are wolf individuals, families, populations, genetics, the whole species in the US, and those who live with or near wolves. Those who value wolves also benefit from their recovery. If we can ensure the recovery of these important apex predators at a level that contributes to ecosystem balance and function, benefits will flow to all humans who rely on the services provided by intact and healthy ecosystems in which wolves thrive.
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Project Coyote staff and volunteers rally in Washington DC to protect wolves in the Great Lakes and Northern Rockies. Image credit: Courtesy of Michele Chandler
As apex predators, wolves play a vital ecological role in restoring and promoting biodiversity and ecosystem health and function. Imperiled wolves need permanent protection. Cruel traps, snares, and hounding violate all sense of respect for life and widely accepted animal welfare standards. Compassionately conserving this keystone species is an integral component of any landscape-level plan designed to meet resiliency goals in North America's climate and biodiversity crises.
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Once federal protections for gray wolves were removed, management shifted to states, opening up trophy hunting, trapping, and baiting of these majestic and critically important apex predators. Image credit: Courtesy of Benjamin Olson
Project Coyote has already commenced work in the region through litigation filed with partnering organizations to stop scheduled wolf hunts in Wisconsin. Notably, the two senior attorneys representing Project Coyote and co-plaintiffs in this case are talented women attorneys from two female-led law firms, Animal & Earth Advocates and Green Fire Law.
This project lays a foundation for protecting other carnivores, all wildlife, and healthy, biodiverse ecosystems. By enhancing the community of humans that value wolves, we will lay the groundwork for future initiatives to broadly protect other carnivores and biodiversity.