Copyright 2001, Environmental News Network
November 14, 2001

To ensure the long-term survival of Canadian wolves in Ontario's Algonquin Park, the Ontario government proposed a ban on hunting and trapping of wolves throughout the park. In 39 townships surrounding the park, the government proposed a 30-month moratorium on wolf hunting and trapping.

Minister of Natural Resources John Snobelen announced the proposed strategy Nov. 6 at the annual meeting of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Canada in Toronto. The goal is to make Algonquin's nearly 3,000 square miles of forests, lakes, and rivers safe for wolves.

"Algonquin Provincial Park is the largest protected area for the eastern wolf in North America," said Snobelen. "These steps will help ensure [that] wolves continue to play an important role in the Algonquin ecosystem."

In May, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada designated the eastern wolf as a species of special concern — a risk category for species that should be carefully monitored. Today only an estimated 150 wolves still inhabit Algonquin Park.

The North American wolf-protection organization Defenders of Wildlife applauded Snobelen's proposal. "Algonquin Park is a special place, the oldest park in Ontario, and the wolf population there is a unique and important part of the region's ecosystem," said Kevin Scott, Defenders director of Canadian programs. "The Ontario government recognizes that killing wolves outside the Park places the whole population in jeopardy, and they are committed to doing something about it," Scott said.

The proposal is based on recommendations by the Algonquin Wolf Advisory Group, a committee of scientists and key stakeholders such as hunters, environmentalists, and community leaders, established by Snobelen in 1998. The advisory group had concluded that Algonquin's wolf population has been decreasing steadily over the past four decades, with further declines expected unless mortality is slowed.

Though the majority of wolf deaths are caused by humans, the advisory group stopped short of recommending a ban on hunting and trapping. Snobelen, in his proposal, strengthened the group's recommendations by calling for a complete moratorium on these activities in and around the Park.

"World Wildlife Fund Canada strongly supports this announcement which caps more than two decades of dedicated research in Algonquin Park," said Monte Hummel, president of World Wildlife Fund Canada. "It will help ensure that the howl of the wolves will always be an important part of the park experience."

World Wildlife Fund has been involved in wolf conservation research for more than 20 years. It has supported more than $750,000 of wolf research and applied conservation work across Canada, especially in projects in and around Algonquin Park, the Rockies, and the Northwest Territories.

According to Nina Fascione, director of carnivore conservation for Defenders of Wildlife, "Recent genetics studies have demonstrated that the wolves in Algonquin Park may be the most pure form of the eastern Canadian wolf. With only approximately 150 wolves left in the park, this moratorium is crucial for assuring the long-term survival and preservation of this important gene pool."

Snobelen said, "Some scientists believe that the eastern gray wolf population is a remnant that now occupies only about one-third of its former range, remaining only in central Ontario and southern Quebec. The development of a strategy is important because Algonquin Park is the largest protected area for these wolves."

Algonquin Park offers the most comprehensive interpretive program about wolves to the largest audiences anywhere in Canada. On any given August evening, as many as 2,400 people attend public wolf howling sessions. More than 100,000 visitors have attended wolf howls over the past 30 years. Error: Unable to read footer file.