California Department of Fish and Wildlife released photos today of California’s first wolf pack – the Shasta pack – since the state’s gray wolf population went extinct in 1924. State and federal authorities announced Thursday that a remote camera captured photos earlier this month of two adults and five pups in southeastern Siskiyou County.

Read more via California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Will New York one day celebrate a similar homecoming? We hope so.

Recognizing the need to explore the need for this apex predator and the potential for its recovery in the Northeast USA, the Northeast Wolf Coalition was established in March, 2014 as an alliance of conservation organizations in New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut and beyond. The Coalition’s work is guided by some of our nation’s best and brightest conservation scientists to ensure the foundation of its work is based on the application of the best available and most current scientific principles. The Coalition believes the return of the wolf will reflect a more fully functional and wild Northeast, with wolves fulfilling dynamic and evolving ecological functions in the changing environments that comprise our region.

As conservationists in the 21st century, we are faced with the challenge of helping nature continue to heal and flourish for future generations. Thus, the need to explore the critical factors that affect the wolf’s return and its potentially positive impact to the natural biological diversity of the Northeast has never been more important.

The Northeast Wolf Coalition envisions an ecologically effective wolf populations in healthy, diverse ecosystems managed as a public trust across North America. Wildlife conservationists must be equipped with a foundation of knowledge and the necessary tools to proceed with due diligence when promoting wolf recovery in the region. Thus, it’s the a priority of the Northeast Wolf Coalition to first and foremost encourage effective trans-boundary cooperative relationships with federal, state, and provincial agencies, organizations, and the general public that lead to responsible best practices that promote wolf recovery in the region.

Learn more about the Northeast Wolf Coalition here.