THE RETURN OF THE WOLF
To Maine and the Northeast
Resource & Action Guide
Wolves are native to North America, including Maine and the
Northeast. Wolves, along with other predators, are a vital part of a
healthy ecosystem. They are beautiful and intelligent animals.
School children across the country are taught that the presence of
both predators and prey is the way nature intended it to be. Just as
there are sharks in the sea and eagles and hawks in the sky, there
are wolves and other predators on the land and they have an
important role to play in nature. It’s time for those who still unfairly
demonize and persecute wolves, to learn what many of us have
finally learned, that predators like the wolf have a place on the Earth
and should be respected and appreciated and allowed to live on this
Earth, including here in Maine and the Northeast.
If you’d like to learn more and/or participate in my wolf education
and advocacy efforts, please contact me:
Robert Goldman (FriendsOfTheWolf.org – coming soon!)
· Phone: 207-831-5929 · Email: bobg128@gmail.com
RESPECT NATURE. RESPECT THE WOLF.
© 2010 Robert Goldman, Friends of the Wolf
The Return of the Wolf – Resources
Video
· Lords of Nature: Life in a Land of Great Predators - You can order this beautiful and
enlightening one hour video at www.lordsofnature.org . By sharing it with family, friends,
classmates and colleagues, you will educate them on the vital role of wolves and other predators
in the natural world.
· In the Valley of the Wolves – A remarkable and intimate PBS NATURE video on the wolves of
Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley and their wildlife neighbors. Visit:
http://video.pbs.org/video/1206056119
· Hunting Wolves, Saving Wolves – An excellent PBS TV video report hosted by journalist
David Broncaccio. Visit: http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/609/index.html
Books and Articles
· Never Cry Wolf, by Farley Mowat, a Canadian wolf biologist. An inspiring book, for both kids
and adults, about Mr. Mowat’s up close study and adventures with a family of wolves in the
Canadian wilderness.
· Of Wolves and Men, by Barry Lopez. One of the best books written about wolves and wolf
behavior, along with the astonishing and often irrational grip they have exerted on the human
imagination throughout history. This book will motivate you to defend and protect wolves
against those who are still living in the dark ages when it comes to the wolf.
· The Wolf: The Ecology and Behavior of an Endangered Species, by L. David Mech, one of
the world’s foremost authorities on wolves. Excellent.
· Where the Wild Things Were: Life, Death and Ecological Wreckage in a Land of Vanishing
Predators, by William Stolzenburg. A powerful and compelling
account of the delicate balance between predator and prey.
· Return of the Wolf: Reflections on the Future of Wolves in the Northeast,
Edited by John Elder. Middlebury College Press. Thought provoking essays by Bill McKibben,
Kristin DeBoer and Rick Bass.
· A Sand County Almanac, by Aldo Leopold. This is a classic collection of magical essays on
the natural world, including one entitled Thinking Like A Mountain, in which the author shares his
special insight about wolves.
· Wolf Wars, (cover page article in the National Geographic magazine - March, 2010 issue).
Article author Douglas Chadwick, lives in Montana wolf country and this article is very
informative, with great visuals and lots of facts. It ultimately makes the case that wolves deserve
respect and acceptance and that we can and must share the land together.
© 2010 Robert Goldman, Friends of the Wolf
Relevant Environmental Organizations
National
Defenders of Wildlife (www.defenders.org)
Natural Resources Defense Council (www.savebiogems.org)
Earth Justice (www.earthjustice.org)
Local
RESTORE: The North Woods (www.restore.org) - RESTORE is focused primarily on large
ecosystem-scale land conservation in Maine. Conserving such lands will allow for healthy wolf
and wildlife habitat.
Maine Wolf Coalition and the Coalition to Restore the Eastern Wolf (CREW)
(www.easternwolf.org) – CREW is a coalition of several conservation and wildlife organizations
joined together to coordinate wolf recovery efforts in the northeastern United States. CREW is
currently inactive but will hopefully soon be revived, with our help.
Some Quotes to Ponder
“Only the mountain has lived long enough to listen objectively to the howl of the wolf.” Aldo
Leopold
“Perhaps they know, somehow, that humans in the Northeast are calling them to return home;
that together, we can call back the soul of the wild.” Kristin DeBoer
“Restoring animals means restoring the spirit of a place.” Bill McKibben
“If Katahdin and the other mountains and forests of the northeast could talk, they would be
urging us to help restore the wolf to its rightful place in the ecology of our region.” From the
author of this guide
© 2010 Robert Goldman, Friends of the Wolf
RETURN OF THE WOLF – ACTION GUIDE
(What YOU can do now to help the wolves
return to Maine and the Northeast)
1. Educate yourself about wolves. Study and enjoy the books, videos and article listed
above. You will be a more effective wolf advocate and friend.
2. Purchase a copy of the Lords of Nature video and show it to everyone you know. You
will help spread the word that wolves and other predators are a natural and vital part of a
healthy ecosystem.
3. Contact the Governor and your state senator and state representative. Let them know
you support the restoration of wolves to Maine and the Northeast.
4. Contact the state and federal wildlife officials listed on the next page and let them know
you want the state and federal government to create and implement a wolf recovery plan
for Maine and the Northeast.
5. Write letters-to-the-editor to the Press Herald and other newspapers in your community.
Educate readers about the importance of wolves and other predators in a healthy
ecosystem and that it’s time to welcome the wolves to return home to Maine and the
Northeast, this time to stay.
6. Join and support one or more of the national and local conservation & wildlife
organizations listed in this guide. They need your support.
Together, we can make a difference for the wolves. We can finally put a stop to the unjust
and unethical demonization and persecution of the wolf. Let’s spread the truth about
wolves, that they are beautiful and intelligent animals, and have a place in the natural
world of predators and prey. Wolves are native to Maine and the Northeast. It is time to
welcome them to return home.
Their return to our region will help heal the land and heal our hearts, too.
If you’d like to learn more and/or participate in my wolf education
and advocacy efforts, please contact me:
Robert Goldman (FriendsOfTheWolf.org – coming soon!)
· Phone: 207-831-5929 · Email: bobg128@gmail.com
RESPECT NATURE. RESPECT THE WOLF.
© 2010 Robert Goldman, Friends of the Wolf
Wildlife officials in Maine & New England
RE: Wolves
Wally Jakubas, Wildlife Biologist/Wolf Contact
Maine Division of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife
650 State St.
Bangor, ME 04071
Phone: 207-941-4471
Email: walter.jakubas@maine.gov
Mike Amaral, Endangered Species Contact
US Fish & Wildlife Service
New England Field Office
70 Commercial St., Suite 300
Concord, NH 03301
Phone: 603-223-2541, then, 823
Email: Michael_Amaral@fws.gov