Gray wolves once roamed from coast to coast and from Alaska to Mexico in the U.S, excluding the south east. Currently the habitat distribution is limited to the Great lakes region, the Northern Rockies region, and the experimental population in Arizona/New Mexico. In the photo below, the true gray habitat vs current distribution can be observed. Gray wolves have been pushed out of their habitat from human encroachment and were also almost extinct in the early 1900’s from humans who thought they were a threat to livestock. Since being on the brink of extinction, most of their habitat that was once utilized is no longer usable by wolves. Wolves only inhabit 10% of the range they used to (Center for Biological Diversity et al 2021). This is largely due to the human intervention factors which have disconnected populations of gray wolves. Clearly, wolves inhabit a wide range of ecosystems and fill a very important ecological niche within their environments. While we may not believe that wolves should be relisted on the ESA, it is key to reintroduce them into the habitats they historically have roamed.