Volume 10 Issue 1 Fall 2009
From the Director’s Chair An Update from Executive Director Kim Wheeler I remember the first time someone told me, “Thank you for what you do” after I had finished a red wolf program. There would be other times these words were said to me and, frankly, they got me thinking. We live in a society that is not always quick to give credit, so the fact that people consider my actions worthy of a thank you made me ponder what I was doing to receive this prized show of appreciation. The answer came to me while I was riding my bike one evening. Yes, that giant light bulb above my head came on! When I talk about the red wolf program and the animals, I am able to make these topics personal for people. I talk about some of the funny things that have happened to the field staff and about some of the animals I have cared for when I am the fill-in caretaker. Talking about the Red Wolf Recovery Program is never boring for me, and once you get me started you had better be prepared to listen for a while. I believe that Canis rufus should be a part of the landscape. When the red wolf was gone, the Southeast was missing a very valuable part of the ecosystem. The challenge for me is to find different ways to explain the scientific, economic, social and political value of having red wolves on the landscape. Every person I talk too offers me the opportunity to expand his or her knowledge about red wolves. Northeastern North Carolina might be the only place in the world where red wolves live in the wild, but we also have other amazing animals that call this place home. We have a large black bear population, the birds that migrate here each year, crazy wild turkeys and a lot of deer. I have the opportunity to view these animals every day when I ride my bike on the local refuge properties. It’s fun to share my stories about how some wild turkeys seemed to chase me one night while I was riding or about how I learned to be patient when I encounter a black bear to see if it is going to move off the road or if I am going to have to turn around because it won’t move. These encounters allow me to enhance my red wolf conversations because I can talk about other animals that live within the restoration area. I recently was honored with the “Who Speaks for Wolf” conservation award from the International Wolf Center. This award is like an actor winning an Academy Award, and one that I never dreamed of receiving. The International Wolf Center is one of the premier wolf education organizations, and its recognition of the work we do on behalf of red wolf restoration inspires me to work even harder to help audiences understand the value of having red wolves on the landscape. (continued on next page)
I am grateful to all the groups that have come to our education programs and howlings, and to everyone who supports the Red Wolf Coalition, especially with donations to sustain the essential work we do. So, let me take this opportunity to say “Thank You” for all that you do for red wolf conservation and education. I hope you enjoy this issue of Red Wolf Tracker. If you are in the Outer Banks area of North Carolina, please come see me in Columbia. Bring your bike and we will go riding on the refuge. You never know what you will see!
Time to Say Thank You…
The first and most important order of the day is to say THANK YOU to all Red Wolf Coalition supporters. YOU are the Red Wolf Coalition, and without you, the red wolf would have no fan club, no public advocates, no one to spread the word about the value of red wolf conservation. But you have stepped in and demonstrated your appreciation for this treasured animal. You have trusted us to invest your money wisely to ensure the long-term survival of the red wolf, and so we have! If you are tired of reading bad news, the Red Wolf Coalition has some daybrightening announcements and articles to make you smile and cheer. Please spread the good word to friends and family! Nothing succeeds like success, and we need your help to keep on doing what we do so well!
New Leadership for Red Wolf Recovery Program
The Red Wolf Coalition welcomes the new Red Wolf Recovery Program Team Leader, Dr. David Rabon! David is not new to red wolf restoration, nor is he a stranger to the RWC. He is an ex-officio director on the board, and he has worked closely on projects with the Coalition for several years. He will soon be leaving his present job at the USFWS Ecological Service office in Raleigh, NC, and we will welcome him to red wolf country in mid-October. Congratulations are due also to David for having completed his PhD at North Carolina State University. Having David Rabon leading the Red Wolf Recovery Program is good news for the Coalition and good news for the wolves!
Major Gifts From Two Friends “Across the Pond”
The United Kingdom Wolf Conservation Trust (UKWCT) has been a strong supporter of the Red Wolf Coalition for several years. Neil Hutt, RWC board chair, gave a talk in Reading, England at the UKWCT’s beautiful facility in 2006. Wolf Print, the UKWCT’s magazine, has featured the red wolf in a number of issues. The RWC just received its second significant financial gift from the UKWCT. The Trust continues to be one of our major benefactors, and we send our gratitude to this premiere organization for its unwavering support and for believing in us and what we do for red wolves. Visit the UKWCT’s Web site at ukwolf.org! Shepreth Wildlife Park in Cambridgeshire, England is also a major and loyal supporter of the Red Wolf Coalition. With a variety of animals and educational programs, this organization’s purpose is to “conserve, educate and entertain.” Shepreth Wildlife Park recently gave the Coalition its second large donation as testament to the organization’s belief in what we do. Shepreth has a new Web site at sheprethwildlifepark.org. It is heartening to have friends in far places—proof that the red wolf has gone international. Not so long ago, few people knew about North America’s “other wolf.” The focus was on gray wolves and not on Canis rufus.. That has changed thanks to the outreach and education efforts of the Red Wolf Coalition.
RWC Executive Director Receives Major Conservation Award
Kim Wheeler, the RWC’s Executive Director, is the recipient of the International Wolf Center’s 2009 Who Speaks for Wolf award. We are so proud of Kim and elated that the RWC is gaining recognition nationwide for its work.
Kim Wheeler receives Who Speaks for Wolf Award. Left to right: Dave Mech, Nancy Gibson, Kim Wheeler, Lori Schmidt
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This prestigious annual award is given to a person outside the International Wolf Center who has made exceptional contributions to wolf education, both by teaching people how the wolf lives and by placing the wolf in the broader context of humankind’s relationship to nature. In the Native American legend Who Speaks for Wolf, the People learn through hard experience to consider the needs of everyone in their discussions and decisions—including the needs of the Wolf. They realize the answer to the question Who Speaks for Wolf? means all the People, and that this principle of inclusion must guide their lives if they are to prosper. Kim’s leadership as Executive Director of the Red Wolf Coalition, with its alliance to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Red Wolf Recovery Program, has paid countless dividends. Because of her dedication and skill, the Red Wolf Coalition is a widely respected leader on behalf of red wolf restoration efforts. Kim’s cooperative spirit has fostered a strong, mutually beneficial partnership between the Coalition and the International Wolf Center in Minnesota. The International Wolf Center board of directors praised Kim for the commitment and energy she invests in her work as a conservationist and advocate for wolves and wild lands. The Red Wolf Coalition sends “howlations” to Kim for her sustained efforts to guide the organization toward accomplishing its goal of ensuring the long-term survival of wild red wolves. We are thrilled that Kim and the Coalition have been recognized and rewarded by the International Wolf Center. The Coalition celebrates Kim’s dedication to conservation and her success at finding ways to connect people to the responsibilities and to the rewards of environmental stewardship. She leads the Red Wolf Coalition in being a model organization for translating commitment into action and results.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Notes from the Field
Eleven wild red wolf pairs produced a total of 41 pups in the 2009 denning season. Four pups from the Lincoln Park Zoo were fostered into two wild packs, and four pups were born to a captive pair of wolves at Sandy Ridge. Of the approximately 130 wild red wolves in the five-county restoration area, 75 – 80 are radio-collared. One female and four male red wolves from St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge in Florida were released this year into the northeastern North Carolina recovery region. (continued on next page)
Red wolf pup
Red wolf mortality continues to concern the Recovery Team and the Coalition. Eight red wolves in the wild population have died since June, though the causes of their deaths could not be determined. As hunting season approaches, the Coalition will step up its efforts to ensure that hunters know the difference between red wolves and coyotes. Gunshot mortality has increased in recent years, and the wild population has suffered the loss of key breeders.
RWC Welcomes Three New Board Members
Can You See a Red Wolf (in Red Wolf Country)?
The Red Wolf Coalition has added three outstanding new board members. All of them bring their energy and talent to the Coalition. They are: • Sherry Samuels – Animal Curator at the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science in Durham, NC • David Slaydon – Nylon Account Manager at Unifi, Inc. • Ann Rasberry – Consulting Ecologist and Geospatial Intelligence Analyst
Red wolves are nearly impossible to see in the wild. They are elusive and wary of people, as are most wolves everywhere. Combine that with the fact that red wolf habitat in northeastern North Carolina is dense with vegetation most of the year. So if you ever glimpse a wild red wolf, you can consider yourself lucky indeed. People often say they wish they could see a red wolf, and the Coalition agrees that everyone should. These rare and beautiful predators are native to North Carolina, and the RWC has long wanted to be able to provide a facility that will house some resident ambassador wolves. (continued on next page)
With your help, that dream will come true. The Red Wolf Coalition is launching a campaign to raise money for a red wolf viewing enclosure! The proposed facility will be at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Education and Veterinary Facility on Highway 90, just one mile south of the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center in Columbia, North Carolina. If all goes according to plan, the Red Wolf Coalition will build an enclosure to surround a natural habitat for our ambassador wolves. Visitors will be able to participate in programs that will include an opportunity to study these wolves.
The RWC has received a generous grant to jump-start the campaign for the enclosure. Will you help? Do you have an employer who would be interested in contributing to this project? Do you have family and/or friends who will join the campaign? Can you organize a fundraiser for this project? Please let us know by contacting Kim Wheeler, Executive Director, at kwheeler@redwolves.com or 252.796.5600.
North Carolina Museum of Life and Science—Go There!
Thanks and a standing howlation to the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science (NCMLS) in Durham, NC for the work they do—for being a strong voice for red wolf restoration and for their commitment to the Red Wolf Coalition. This is one awesome place to spend a day with the family, with friends, or even solo. Something is there for everyone—or, more accurately, some THINGS are there for everyone! You will linger over the indoor exhibits and enjoy the walk outside to see the animals in settings so unique that you will return often. This exciting and beautiful museum has hosted two Red Wolf Coalition board meetings, and we are fortunate to have Animal Curator Sherry Samuels on the board of directors. We encourage all Red Wolf Coalition members to go to Durham and spend a day at the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science. It will be the first of many visits! Take a look at the NCMLS’s Web site at ncmls.org. The membership benefits are outstanding. To learn more about red wolves and the NCMLS’s red wolf exhibit, go to ncmls.org/learnabout/redwolves/museum.
A “Nearly-Perfect” Howling Season
Red wolves must think Kim Wheeler, our award-winning Executive Director, is a pack member! At almost every one of the RWC’s signature weekly evening Howling Safaris at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, the wolves responded to Kim’s solo song with a rousing chorus of their own.
The Summer 2009 Howling Safaris consistently drew large crowds interested in red wolves and red wolf conservation.
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Ever popular with local folks and visitors alike, the Howlings drew crowds of 75 or more people every week. Kim and Diane Hendry, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Red Wolf Outreach and Education Coordinator, gave presentations and answered questions about how red wolves live and the status of red wolf restoration. At the height of the summer, these two dedicated educators and advocates put up with heat, rain, mosquitoes and gnats in order to spread the word about one of North Carolina’s native wildlife treasures—the red wolf.
Diane Hendry (background right in USFWS uniform) answers visitor’s questions about red wolves
The Howling Safaris not only promote red wolf restoration; they give visitors firsthand acquaintance with the beauty and tranquility of one of the region’s great national wildlife refuges. In addition to listening for wolves, participants often see bears and sometimes even an alligator or a bobcat. The Safaris remind us all of what a special place it is that the red wolves call home—northeastern North Carolina!
SHORT STORIES
Brief Updates From Red Wolf Country RWC Executive Director to Carnivores Conference
Kim Wheeler will present a paper at the Defenders of Wildlife 2009 Carnivore Conference, Carnivore Conservation in a Changing World, in Denver, Colorado. The conference dates are November 15-18, 2009. In her presentation, Kim will discuss the current status of red wolf recovery and the role of the Red Wolf Coalition in advocating for red wolves.
Charmed by Red Wolves
Do you love charm bracelets? Pendants on a delicate chain? Board member Donna Storie is working on the design for a sterling silver red wolf charm. It’s the perfect gift for a special person…or for yourself! Watch the RWC Web site for an announcement that the charms are available for sale. They will be beautiful and reasonably priced.
Jane Goodall and Red Wolves
Most of us don’t associate famed researcher Jane Goodall with wolves, but red wolves have a prominent place in her latest book Hope for Animals and Their World: How Endangered Species Are Being Rescued from the Brink. Goodall and co-authors Thane Maynard and Gail Hudson have included a chapter about red wolves. We eagerly anticipate the book’s release this fall.
The RWC is Expecting!
What? When? Where? The “What?” is a brand new, re-designed Web site! The “When?” is the not-too-distant future. And the “Where?” is redwolves.com. Board member Ann Rasberry is taking the lead on this project along with Mark Macallister, the Coalition’s Web guru and Webmaster of the award-winning “Field Trip Earth” site (fieldtripearth.org) The suspense builds! We can’t wait to launch this site, and we will have the wolves send up a resounding howl as soon as the new arrival is ready to go live. Be watching and listening!
FTE Wins Prestigious Web Site Award
Mark MacAllister, the Coalition’s board of directors vice-chair and Webmaster, wears several hats in his work for the North Carolina Zoological Society in Asheboro. One of his roles is that of Webmaster for FieldTripEarth (fieldtripearth.org), the Zoo Society’s interactive education Web site, which features the red wolf recovery program as one of its major “field trips.” FTE has been recognized by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a division of the American Library Association, as a “Landmark Web Site.” Other Landmark sites include NASA, the Library of Congress, PBS Teachers, Smithsonian Education, Google Earth, Apple Learning Interchange and some other long-term projects such as EduTopia and Web Quest. Congratulations to Mark MacAllister on this great achievement!
Thanks to Red Wolf Coalition Supporters! The Summer Appeal went above and beyond our expectations and hopes. Thanks to our supporters and donors and friends, we received over $13,000 for the general operating fund. This is the money that keeps the door of our beautiful office in Columbia open, the welcome mat dusted off and the lights on—often late into the night as the work goes on. Along with our thanks goes the plea to reaffirm your faith in the organization and its work as often as you can for as much as you can. We are grateful for every single donation, no matter what the amount. The upcoming 2009 Fall Appeal will give you another opportunity to help the Coalition continue its work on behalf of red wolves. Now is the time to start looking between the sofa cushions for loose change and to highlight a place on your end-of-the-year contributions list for red wolves. They need you! And the Coalition needs you so that we can serve our primary customer—the red wolf! THANK YOU, RED WOLF SUPPORTERS! Vivian Adams • Jack Apple • Joanne Baker • Amanda Barnes • Lillian Benton • Nancy Bond • Matt Burns • Candido Calciolari • Randall Chamberlain • Colleen Coghlan • Thomas Cole • Traci Connor • Pam Courtney • Donna Cuddy • Jack & Sandy Donoqhue • Dell & Daniel Fascione • Jan Ferguson • Jane Fisher • James Gleim • Anne Goldberg • Peggy Gooch • Linda Hamilton • Chuck Hendricks • Hilaire Henthorne • John Hinkle • Bobbie Holaday • Joyce Holland • Julia Horner • Jim Huddleston • Joyce Hudson • Elizabeth Huey • Neil Hutt • Carole Jamerson • Forrest Jamison • Michele Jankelow • Paul Kapinos • Debra Kaufman • Robert Kelb • Walter & Barbara Kempin • Diane Lakey • Chris Leazer • Steven Lewis • Arthur Lockwood • Christina Lyon • Mark MacAllister • James MacLaren • Debbie May • Evelyn Mercer • Jessica Metzger • Jenny Meyers • Bruce Moffatt • Andi Nelsen • Lynne Nemeth • Terry Patterson • Patricia Pertalion • Virginia Petura • John Pickett • Dana Pond • David & Tracy Rabon • Lisa Rahn • Ann Rasberry • William Reppy, Jr • William Ross • Judy & Neil Rothstein • Ramon Rubins • Salisbury Zoo Commission, Inc. AAZK • Harold Samuels • Scott Samuels • Sherry Samuels • Elizabeth Schaub • Gina Schrader • Loren & Diane Schrader • Angela Scott • Lee Scripture • Walter Shaffer • The Shared Earth Foundation • David & Peg Slaydon • Tom Stock • Donna Storie • Judy Strom • Edmund Studley • Dave Sullivan • The Surtman Foundation • Douglass Swanson • Tim Thompson • Loretta Turner • Susan VanGieson • Gerhard Weinberg • Gerlie Weinstein • Katherine Wells • Slim Wilde • Gred & Leigh Wilkinson • Judith Winstead • Nicholas Vukich With so many supporters to acknowledge, it’s possible that we’ve left somebody off our list. If we’ve missed your name, please accept our apologies—and let us know ASAP!
Thanks Also to InKind Contributors
In addition to the financial supporters listed above, the Red Wolf Coalition is proud to recognize the many people that provide “in-kind” contributions of materials, expertise and, perhaps most importantly, time. Neil Hutt • Mark MacAllister • Ann Rasberry • Sherry Samuels Jerry Sanders • David Slaydon • Donna Storie
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Photo courtesy Evelyn L. Mercer
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