Wyoming Wolves: Worth the Watching

by Meredith Taylor

An article in National Geographic notes that a survey of visitors to Yellowstone National Park in the late 1980s "revealed that 82 percent believed wolves should be introduced, and a majority of the region's residents agreed." Some opposition remains, the article adds, "but the program is continuing, helping to restore the age-old balance of nature in the world's first national park."

In addition, the Yellowstone wolves are boosting the profits of ecotourism companies and the economies of the park's gateway communities.

"It's unbelievable, the number of people who want information about

The number of visitors using Yellowstone's northeast entrance rose by more than 26% the first year after wolf reintroduction.

wolves," says Steve Braun, who runs Yellowstone/Glacier Adventures. Last year, Braun predicted a total gross income of $300,000 from his wolf-watching trips alone.

Jim Halfpenny, director of A Naturalist's World, teaches wolf ecology and behavior. Last year, he conducted at least 35 two- to eight-day wolf classes in Yellowstone, attended by groups of between 10 to 20 people. Students paid up to $250 per day to attend Halfpenny's classes, and spent time (and money) in local communities on either end of their trips.

"People write to me and say, 'I've dreamed about wolves all my life,'" says Halfpenny. "'What are the chances that I'd get to see them?'" It's a sure bet: the Yellowstone wolves are the most photographed packs in the world. "I've never had a course when we didn't see a wolf," he adds.

A story in the Denver Post notes that Yellowstone eco-tourism guide Carl Swoboda's wolf-watching trips attract about 200 people each year, each of whom pays him $1,700 a week.

Most wolf fans enter the park at its northeast entrance, near Cooke City,

Yellowstone's wolves are boosting both ecotourism profits and the economies of gateway communities.

the closest entrance to the wolf-rich Lamar Valley. The number of visitors using this park entrance rose by more than 26% the first year after wolf reintroduction. Wolf watchers generally stay at motels and eat meals in Cooke City, heading out to the Lamar Valley at dawn and dusk to watch wolves.

Wolves are becoming a popular tourist attraction in Grand Teton National Park as well. Bill Malone, executive director of the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce, says, "I'm sure that wolf watching will grow into... something that will excite people and fit into their plans to visit here."

Ranchers, too, are benefiting from wolves, which are biting into coyote populations in the region.

"Before wolves were released, the Lamar Valley region contained at least 12 coyote packs totaling about 80 individuals," says Bob Crabtree, director of Yellowstone Ecosystem Studies. "Within a year, the wolves had reduced the number of coyotes by half, [leaving] only about 36 coyotes arranged in nine packs." Crabtree adds that the average coyote pack size fell from six to 3.8, and that each winter between 25% and 33% of the coyote population is killed by wolves.

Some wolf packs have extended their territories onto other public lands in the region. By putting a significant dent in coyote populations, wolves are saving the Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services program thousands of dollars in aerial gunning, trapping and poisoning of coyotes.

Wyoming's wolves are indeed "worth the watching."