BELLOWS FALLS — On Saturday, Dec. 10, from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Rockingham Free Public Library's top floor meeting room, Wolfgard Northeast will host a forum to discuss the organization's plan to open a captive wolf education center in southern Vermont.
Adam Katrick, board president, and other board members will be on hand to offer information and a PowerPoint presentation and to answer questions about this planned project, according to a news release.
Wolves were native to the Northeast and the rest of North American until decades of hunting and trapping left all but a handful of wolves in the lower 48. With the help of the Endangered Species Act, wolves have recovered to about 10 percent of their historic range. However, there are currently no wolf populations in New England, despite a large amount of viable habitat in which they can thrive.
Wolves are considered a “keystone species,” having a significant impact on their ecosystems and numerous species such as deer and moose. Without these predators, the ecosystems of the Northeast have drastically changed, affecting countless other species - including humans.
Wolfgard Northeast says it believes that helping the wolf return to New England is a challenging but invaluable mission, but also recognizes that without widespread, high-impact environmental education, it will be incredibly difficult to welcome the wolf back to the region's forests.
That is why, they say, creating a wolf center with captive, “ambassador” wolves is a powerful way to teach about the value of predators in our ecosystems and help reconnect humans to these missing species.