Updating our thinking on the role of human activity in wolf recovery

It is common for land managers and administrators involved in wolf (Canis lupus) management to assume that human development within wolf habitat is a hindrance to wolf recovery. Thus, researchers are often asked questions like We are planning to build a new dock and parking area on Wolf Lake; how will that affect wolf recovery? This kind of question pervades national forest and national park plans and has been pondered with regularity by both federal and state resource managers.

Meanwhile, wolves have been extending their ranges into regions of much greater human development. The apparent contradiction has created both confusion and misdirected effort.