In response to Maine’s Wolf History, an article published in the Ellsworth American on May 22, 2024:
After reading the recent article by V. Paul Reynolds “Maine’s wolf history”, I regret that I don’t have the opportunity to counter his lies and disinformation in every newspaper that prints his column. First of all, it is a lie that I and the Maine Wolf Coalition have “lobbied intensely for a wolf reintroduction program for Maine.” Neither I nor MWC has ever advocated reintroducing wolves to Maine. We do support natural recolonization through the dispersal of wolves from Canada. There is growing evidence that this is already occurring. There is no such thing as wolf “introduction” since wolves are native to Maine.
With all due respect to Mark McCollough, I disagree strongly with his unsubstantiated claims. There is not a shred of evidence that Maine’s 1993 and 1996 wolves “likely spent some time in captivity.” The stable isotope analyses implied by Mr. McCollough are far from foolproof. They must be considered in conjunction with DNA analyses. Mr. Reynolds would do well to stick to hunting and fishing and to stay away from subjects he knows little or nothing about, such as wolves and DNA analyses. The fact is that the DNA of Maine’s 1993 and 1996 wolves was wholly consistent with wild wolves.
The implication that an animal is not a wolf unless it is “pure” is both false and completely irrelevant. Wolves around the Great Lakes and southern Ontario and Quebec are not “pure” but are still considered to be wolves from both a legal and a biological standpoint. There is likely no such thing as a “pure” Eastern wolf. It is a wolf, nonetheless.
Reynolds’ weasel wording, e.g. “evidence suggests” combined with McCollough’s pure speculation is meaningless. No one, not Mr. Reynolds, not Mr. McCollough, and certainly not the state or federal governments, know what is happening with wolves in Maine today. No one knows that will happen with wolves tomorrow. McCollough has no scientific proof that “any dispersing wolf would readily hybridize with eastern coyotes.” Reynolds’ assertion that the “evidence suggests” this, is intended to cast doubt on the science behind natural wolf recolonization. Great Lakes wolves that contain coyote DNA successfully recolonized Wisconsin and northern Michigan where coyote/wolf hybrids are common. Eastern wolves in Ontario’s Algonquin Park do not readily hybridize with coyotes. The park has a significant Eastern wolf population such that the wolves have other wolves to breed with. Who knows whether ongoing hybridization is occurring or will occur in Maine? No one. It is all pure speculation on the part of both McCollough and Reynolds.
There is growing scientific evidence that wolves are attempting to recolonize the region from New York to New Brunswick. Wolf range extends to within sixty miles of New York and seventy five miles of Maine. Wolves can travel more than 1,000 miles during dispersal. The St. Lawrence River is not a barrier to wolf dispersal. This is the science.
In 2019, the Maine Wolf Coalition collected scat from an 85% Eastern wolf in northern Maine. By scientific standards, this is a high percentage Eastern wolf. How did it get here? Was it born here? Does Maine have a sizeable population of Eastern wolves?
Neither the state nor federal governments, including McCollough’s former employer, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is doing anything to assess the status of wolves in Maine. For this reason, the Maine Wolf Coalition is taking on this task. To date we have collected more than 250 canid scats and have sent many for DNA analysis. We hope to have results later this year. We do not deal in weasel wording, suggestions, hypotheses or speculation. We deal in science. The science tells us that wolves are here.
John M. Glowa, Sr., President
The Maine Wolf Coalition, Inc.
