Can the land support the return of the wolf?
Most of the wolf's former habitat in the 48 states is now unsuitable for wolves, and probably never will be suitable because of human encroachment. The ecosystem has been altered as a result of forest destruction and the expansion of cultivated land (Breitenmoser, 1998). Habitat availability sets strict limits on large carnivore populations. Human societies have altered nature by clearing forests to gain arable land, and by over exploiting the remaining forests. Fragmentation has increased due to suburban sprawl and urban development. The task of reintroduction is more complex because there is less open land to offer the wolves.
Given protection, wolves can expand their range rapidly (Fuller et al., 1992 cited in Mech, 1995). However, in the mountains of the northwest there are few areas that do not also inhabit local populations of people and private land. Land exploited for grazing and building has left the wilderness for wolves in fragments. Road density has increased and that has lead to a decrease in wolf numbers in Michigan and Minnesota (Mladenoff, 1995). Estes (1996) states that in regard to resource management, species persist or disappear and populations grow or decline primarily in response to changes in their habitats.
The state of the land forces the question of whether reintroduction of this nomadic species is actually possible. Is reintroducing the wolf fighting a battle that has already been lost simply because of the limits of available resources? Have humans imposed and altered nature so significantly that it is impossible for a large carnivore, one which ranges over hundreds of square miles, to thrive in what little true wilderness remains? Long ago we kicked wolves out of their home and took that open space as our own. Now it will take much more than dropping off wolves from Canada to restore and welcome this great predator back to our mountains, we have to learn to share.
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