In my last Words from Walt, I lamented what I characterized as the continuing problem of the “I thought it was a coyote” defense in the potential prosecution of wolf killers under the federal Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). This issue arose because of the so called McKittrick policy, whereby the US Department of Justice (“DOJ”) would not prosecute a wolf killer without evidence that said killer knew the biological identity of the animal before killing it. I have followed this issue since its misguided inception in 1999. Let me briefly explain. Read the rest of this entry »

I am your vice president and will be offering this occasional column on the plight of the wolf in our country. As a lifelong admirer and supporter of this animal, it is indeed my totem, and its troubles surviving are never far out of my mind. I have been pleased and honored to hold this office for many years, and am indebted to the number one wolf advocate in the Northeast, our president, John Glowa Sr., for my tenure in that regard. I will forever be in awe of his selfless devotion and very hard work, year in and year out, on behalf of our beleaguered wolf friends. Read the rest of this entry »

Maine has no coyotes (Canis latrans).  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_coyote

The wolflike canid that ranges from Ohio to the Carolinas and northeast to Newfoundland and Labrador is not a coyote, but a hybrid of the coyote, wolf and domestic dog.  The animal that we call coyote is more aptly named “coywolf”.  Coywolves were first documented in Canada in the early 20th century and by the 1930’s they had reached Maine.  The L.C. Bates Museum in Hinckley contains a strange looking specimen purported to be a wolf killed in Calais, Maine around 1910.  It looks nothing like the coy wolves of today.   Read the rest of this entry »