The gray wolf recovery story is one that is well known, and taught, as to give hope to other restoration plans for various species on the Endangered Species List. The gray wolf recovery plan has a few different options. Starting off with protected land and animal protection through the ESA. This protects them from being hunted, either for sport or from angry farmers and their cattle. There are also captive programs that follow specific steps so that the wolves can be raised in captivity, and then released with their mate and pups into the wild. They do this by only going in for contact with the pack for medical purposes or emergencies. After their release, they will track them to make sure they are successfully living in the wild. To let them free, they have a controlled caged area, where they will leave carcasses and other resources for them, then at a certain point, will open the gate and they can leave whenever they feel comfortable leaving. While tracking the pack, they may also leave carcasses for them to find in order for them to practice their tracking skills, while not necessarily being fed by “human interaction”. Another method for recovery is marking and tracking wild packs. This way they can see where they are, and if they are causing trouble, specifically in the farming industry. One thing that Washington state does, is host an organization called WAG (Wolf Advisory Group). This group is for anyone who is impacted by the wolf recovery program, mainly biologists, conservationists and farmers. They will help farmers get their farms set up to be protected from wolves, and will give them assistance if their cattle have been attacked or killed.
