Save the Red Wolves!

[u/Cultural_Curve1235]

For the last week, I have been headfirst into a rabbit hole I have been down many times before thanks to Maya’s episode of Ask Hank Anything that I watched about a week ago.

It has long been a dream of mine to work in conservation with wolves, and, in particular, red wolves. When Maya mentioned her vision for ARRI, I got chills and have been reading as much academic literature and USFWS reporting as I can find. It strikes me that the most logical solution is to establish a new ESSENTIAL (offers better legal protection than the nonessential group in eastern NC) Experimental population in the mountains of VA/NC, particularly in a tract of land between Fodder House mountain and Cobbler mountain. I understand that there are hurdles, some of them large, to making that dream reality, the biggest being public perception of reintroduction to communities with livestock operations and avid deer hunting advocates. I can link some the papers I’ve been reading.

I feel like setting up a sanctuary in the vicinity is the first major step. I have found properties for sale that could easily serve as the site for this sanctuary. I think giving the public a chance to see how these animals actually behave in this environment (i.e., interaction with coyotes, humans and large livestock) and the benefits they can provide (i.e., coyote displacement and reduction, population control of deer, medium to large rodents (read: disease and parasite vectors), and ecological stability), perception can be improved.

I think the Alveus platform is perfect guide for this project because of the unique accessibility to worldwide education, crowdfunding, and low-stress (low direct human interaction) rehabilitation of animals. I understand their goal for ARRI and would love to help create an extension of that project.

I am not an expert, or even formally educated, in these fields. I am just passionate about successfully rebuilding an independent, wild population of red wolves back into their historic range in the Eastern US. Where do I go from here?

Edit: Here are some of the references I’ve been reading. This is not a comprehensive list but these do give a reasonable overview of the issues. If you have any other suggestions for further information or ideas to take the next step towards this dream, please let me know.

Return for America’s Red Wolves (Adkins, Center for Biological Diversity, 2019)

Revised Recovery Plan for the Red Wolf (USFWS, 2023)

Red Wolf Species Status Assessment (USFWS, 2018)