Wolf Recovery Today
These are the regions in the United States where wolves are found today. Click on a region on the map to learn more.
Pacific Northwest
Canis lupus occidentalis (Northwestern wolf)
Other Names: Rocky Mountain wolf, Mackenzie Valley wolf, Alaskan timber wolf, Canadian timber wolf
In the 1980s, wolves from Canada dispersed into northwestern Montana and formed breeding pairs. In 1995 and 1996, 66 wild wolves were translocated from Canada to central Idaho and Yellowstone National Park. Since then, the wolves have bred and dispersed out of the original release area and across the Pacific Northwest.
California
The historical range of wolves in California spanned most of the state, including the coastal range from San Diego to Sacramento, as well as inland in the Sierra Nevadas. Wolves were declared extinct in California in 1924, but in August of 2015, California Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed that California had its first wild wolf pack in almost a century. Learn more about our work recovering wolves in California.
Conservation Status: Protected under the California Endangered Species Act since 2014.
California Wolf Population: at least 20 (Lassen Pack, Whaleback pack and Beckwourth pack)
Oregon
Wolves were once common in Oregon, occupying most of the state. However, a deliberate effort to eradicate the species via trophy hunting and predator bounties rendered them extinct in Oregon by the late 1940s. Beginning in 1999, wolves began dispersing from Idaho and establishing packs, reviving Oregon’s wolf population.
Conservation Status: "The gray wolf is protected as endangered under the authority of the federal Endangered Species Act in Oregon west of highways 395, 78, and 95." ODFW Feb. 12, 2021
Oregon Wolf Population: 158 wolves (as of 2020)
Washington
Once a native Washington species, wolves were nearly eradicated from the state in the early 1900s. Fortunately, wolves have begun returning to Washington from nearby states and establishing local packs.
Conservation Status: "Endangered in the western 2/3rds of Washington, west of U.S Highway 97, State Route 17 and U.S. 395. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has primary management authority to the east of that line. Wolves that inhabit tribal lands east of highways 97, 17 and 395 are managed by those specific tribal
entities."
Washington Wolf Population: "The year-end minimum population count for 2020 was at least 132 known wolves in 24 known packs including at least 13 breeding pairs. The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation reported 46 wolves in five packs. Annual wolf population surveys are conducted in the winter because wolf populations experience the least amount of natural fluctuation during this time."
Northern Rockies
Canis lupus occidentalis (Northwestern wolf)
Other Names: Rocky Mountain wolf, Mackenzie Valley wolf, Alaskan timber wolf, Canadian timber wolf
In the 1980s, wolves from Canada dispersed into northwestern Montana and formed breeding pairs. In 1995 and 1996, 66 wild wolves were translocated from Canada to central Idaho and Yellowstone National Park.
Idaho
Wolves once existed throughout Idaho, but their numbers began to decline shortly after European settlement. Beginning in 1995, wolves were reintroduced to central Idaho as part of an effort to recover and conserve wild wolves in the Northern Rockies states.
Conservation Status: State Mandated, Hunting Season to be year round, no limits on sex or age of wolf
Idaho Wolf Population:~1556 wolves in the state
Montana
Wolf populations had declined significantly by the early 20th century, primarily due to loss of habitat and conflicts with people. In 1980, the Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery Team initiated wolf population recovery efforts in the northern Rockies of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. As a result of these efforts, as well as the reintroduction of wolves in Idaho which naturally dispersed to neighboring states, the wolf population of Montana is now on the rise.
Conservation Status: State Management
Montana Wolf Population: 900 (as of 2017)
Wyoming
Wolves in Wyoming were removed from the endangered species list in 2017, leaving species management to be led by the State of Wyoming. This wolf population includes packs in Yellowstone National Park, which were reintroduced starting in 1995.
Conservation Status: State Management
Wyoming Wolf Population: ~327 (as of 2020)
Southwest
Canis lupus baileyi (Mexican gray wolf)
Other Names: Lobo
Commonly called "lobo," the Mexican gray wolf historically ranged throughout Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico. They are the most genetically distinct subspecies of gray wolf and are unique to North America. This population of wolves was reintroduced starting in 1998 from captive-bred individuals. Learn more about what California Wolf Center is doing for Mexican gray wolf conservation.
Arizona
After being hunted to the brink of extinction in the wild by the early 20th century, 11 Mexican gray wolves were released into a federally designated Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area in east-central Arizona in 1998. Today, Arizona is one site of ongoing Mexican gray wolf recovery.
Conservation Status: Endangered subspecies
Arizona Wolf Population: At least 72. Reference
New Mexico
The reintroduced population of Mexican gray wolves into the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area in east-central Arizona is shared between both Arizona and New Mexico.
Conservation Status: Endangered Subspecies
New Mexico Wolf Population: At least 114. Reference
Great Lakes
Canis lupus nubilus (Great Plains wolf)
Other Names: Buffalo wolf
This is a naturally occurring population of wolves that dispersed from Canada into the Great Lakes area. While the Great Plains wolf, or Buffalo wolf as it’s commonly called, was thought to be extinct by 1926, studies indicate that the wolves in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and upper Michigan are descendants of this subspecies.
Michigan
Wolves are native to Michigan, but by 1840, they could no longer be found in the southern portion of the Lower Peninsula. Beginning in the 1980s, a combination of new state and federal protection efforts, as well as natural migration from neighboring states and Canada, marked their comeback in Michigan.
Conservation Status: State Managed
Michigan Wolf Population: ~695 as of 2020
Isle Royale Wolf Population: ~15 wolves as of 2020. Reference
Minnesota
Aside from Alaska, Minnesota is the other only state that has always held a viable gray wolf population, despite decreasing numbers due to human conflict. Recently protected again under the Endangered Species Act as of 2014, their populations continue to rise.
Conservation Status: Managed by State and Tribal Units
Minnesota Wolf Population: ~2,696. Reference
Wisconsin
After federal protections were established for wolves via the Endangered Species Act in 1973, the wolf population in Minnesota began to increase and expand their range. As of the year 2000, wolves in the Western Great Lakes region surpassed federal recovery goals.
Conservation Status: State Managed
Wisconsin Wolf Population: ~1000-2000 as of 2020, Februrary 2021 wolf hunt killed 216
wolves
Southeast - North Carolina
Canis rufus (Red wolf)
Once common throughout the southeastern United States, the red wolf is now one of the world’s most endangered wild canids. The current population is descended from 14 pure red wolves captured in the wild. Today, there are approximately 200 red wolves in captive breeding facilities.
North Carolina
This population of wolves was reintroduced starting in 1988 from captive-bred individuals. Over the course of two decades, the USFWS has been restoring red wolves to the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern North Carolina.
Conservation Status:Federally protected
North Carolina Wolf Population: ~20
Alaska
Canis lupus occidentalis (Northwestern wolf)
Other Names: Rocky Mountain wolf, Alaskan timber wolf, Canadian timber wolf
As a naturally occurring population, the number of wolves in Alaska have fortunately not experienced endangerment or threats that wolf packs in the lower 48 states are subject to.
Legal Status: State managed
Population Size: ~7,000-10,000 wolves as of 2014.
Reference