Return of the Wolves - 20 Years Later

Wolf in Lamar Valley
by Yellowstone NPS on Flickr.

This morning on the Yellowstone National Park Facebook page there was a gallery of photographs about the re-introduction of wolves to the park. It was twenty years ago today that the first wolves were re-introduced to the park. That gallery reminded me of the PBS documentary Return of the Wolves which is about the re-introduction of wolves. I have embedded the video below. (Viewers outside of the U.S. might not be able to see the embedded video).


Applications for Education
In the past I have used part of this documentary in a U.S. Civics lesson about states' rights v. federal powers. The lesson coincided nicely with a colleague's lesson about biodiversity.

National Geographic - Return of the Wolves

The cover story of this month's National Geographic magazine is about the return of wolves to the Western United States. The article, appropriate for high school readers, outlines the eradication and reintroduction of wolves to the American west. On the National Geographic website they're offering an interactive map depicting the current dispersal of wolves in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. The map shows the growth of the wolf population since their reintroduction in the 1990's.

The reintroduction of wolves to the Western United States is a good topic of discussion for science classes as well as social studies classes. In my US History classes I've shown Peter Jennings Reporting: In Search of Americaa few times as an example of states' rights versus federal jurisdiction. In the video Jennings interviews Idaho ranchers who opposed the reintroduction of wolves and he interviews wildlife experts who advocated for the reintroduction. The video almost always starts a passionate discussion in class.

Wolves, produced by David Douglas, chronicles some of the scientific and political issues surrounding the reintroduction of wolves to the Western United States.