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Gray Wolf Habitat Can Trigger Powerful, Widespread Ecological Effects In The US – Scientists

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On western federal lands, experts from Oregon State University are recommending management measures that, in their opinion, will increase the number of wolves and beavers and restore biological processes.

William Ripple, the co-lead author of the paper “Rewilding the American West,” and 19 other authors propose using a network based on prospective habitat for the gray wolf, an apex predator capable of causing strong, broad ecological effects, on areas of federal lands in 11 states.

There are at least 5,000 square kilometers of contiguous federally managed properties in those states that are considered prime wolf habitat, according to the authors. The proposed Western Rewilding Network includes the following states: Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It would span an area of almost 500,000 square kilometers.

“It’s an ambitious idea,” says Ripple, distinguished professor of ecology at the OSU College of Forestry, “but the American West is going through an unprecedented period of converging crises including extended drought and water scarcity, extreme heat waves, massive fires, and loss of biodiversity.

Gray wolves were driven to near extinction in the West until being reintroduced in the 1990s through methods made possible by the Endangered Species Act in the northern Rocky Mountains and the Southwest.

However, only 14% of the gray wolf’s historical range is currently present in those 11 states, according to co-author and postdoctoral fellow Christopher Wolf from the College of Forestry. 

“They probably once numbered in the tens of thousands, but today there might only be 3,500 wolves across the entire West.”

Beaver populations used to be big all over the West, but after settler colonialism, they dropped by about 90% and are now gone from many streams. This means ecosystem services aren’t being provided, say the authors.

Beavers enhance fish habitat, boost water and sediment retention, maintain water flows during droughts, improve water quality, promote carbon sequestration, and overall improve habitat for riparian plant and animal species by cutting down trees and bushes and building dams.

Robert Beschta, co-author and professor emeritus in the OSU College of Forestry, remarkes that “Beaver restoration is a cost-effective way to repair degraded riparian areas.” In the West, riparian regions make up less than 2% of the total area yet are home to up to 70% of all wildlife species.

Similarly, the authors claim that wolf restoration provides important ecological advantages by aiding in the natural management of native ungulates like elk. According to them, wolves help vegetation species like aspen, which supports a variety of plant and animal populations and is in decline in the West, to recover.

The document lists 92 threatened and endangered plant and animal species, with hazards from human activities examined for each species. At least 10% of each species’ ranges fall within the proposed Western Rewilding Network.

The authors found that livestock grazing was the most common threat. They say that this can damage streams and wetlands, change how fires happen, and make it harder for woody species, especially willow, to grow back.

Federal grazing permits contribute to around 2% of the nation’s beef production, the paper notes.

The authors suggest that “the removal of grazing on federal allotments from approximately 285,000 square kilometers within the rewilding network, representing 29% of the total 985,000 square kilometers of federal lands in the 11 western states that are annually grazed.” 

Therefore, a federal compensation program that is fair from an economic and social perspective is required for people who give up their grazing rights. Rewilding will be most successful when participation issues for all stakeholders, especially Indigenous people and their governments, are taken into consideration.

Image Credit: Getty

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