Biological feasibility study for reintroducing gray wolves back to the Adirondacks

Wolves were extirpated from the Adirondacks over a century ago due largely to human eradication efforts.  The Conservation Biology Institute (Corvallis, OR) was chosen by the Adirondack Citizens Advisory Committee to examine the question of biological feasibility of reintroducing gray wolves back to the Adirondacks. By applying what is known about gray wolf ecology (in general) to the best available spatial and genetics data for the Adirondacks, we examined three basic questions:

  1. Is there suitable gray wolf habitat in the Adirondacks to support a viable population?
  2. Is there adequate landscape connectivity both within the Adirondacks and between the Adirondacks and the surrounding region to allow for reasonable gray wolf movement important to their persistence?
  3. What does the most recent genetics tell us about wolves in the Adirondacks?

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