Strong and wild, America’s gray wolves once ranged across most of the United States. More than a symbol of wilderness, scientists agree that the wolf is a keystone species. Its presence is critical to maintaining the integrity of native ecosystems. But, centuries of hunting and trapping sought to eliminate wolves from the American landscape. Today, thanks to the safety net of the Endangered Species Act, wolves are slowly recovering in wild places across the Great Lakes, Northern Rockies and Southwest.

Restoration of the wolf is considered one of our nation’s greatest conservation success stories. Unfortunately, the centuries-old war on wolves is far from over. The unwarranted assault on wolves that commenced in states including Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho after wolves in those states lost federal protections highlights the increasingly hostile anti-wolf policies of states now charged with ensuring the survival of gray wolf populations.
Slowly, wolves are now expanding further, making their way into places like California, Maine and other states. But just as wolves are beginning to return to their historic range, Secretary of Interior
Sally Jewell is proposing to strip them of the federal protections afforded by the ESA, and thus allow them to be hunted once again. Federal protections for wolves are essential to help this animal recover and expand into still-suitable parts of its former range, just as the bald eagle was allowed to do before having its federal protections removed.

Our nation’s future relies on a well-educated public to be wise stewards of the very environment that sustains us and future generations. Ultimately, the collective wisdom of our citizens will be the most compelling and most successful strategy for preserving our wildlife and the wild lands that sustain them.

Today, raising families of curious pups and romping in meadows, the wolf is trying to make come back. Our children want to be assured that this symbol of the American wild will not be silenced in their lifetime or for future generations. In response to this call to action, the Wolf Conservation Center and the National Wolfwatcher Coalition has implemented service learning programs that can be just the catalyst for change among a new generation of stewards who can hopefully reverse this trend before it is too late.

In that regard, both organizations are leading a service-learning event sponsored by Prai Beauty, “A Family Walk to Protect America’s Wild Heritage,” as an opportunity for kids of all ages to participate on the National Day of Action to Support Wolf Recovery – Wed., August 14th from 1-3PM at the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in Cross River, NY. The event will include learning activities, hikes, crafts, raffles and an appearance by ambassador wolf Atka. Alyssa Grayson, the National Wolfwatcher Coalition’s junior advocate, will also give an address. The event hopes to raise awareness about the importance of wolves to ecosystems and to teach families and youth easy ways they can participate as effective voices for wolves now and in the future.