PREDATORS – Monday was the 20th anniversary of the reintroduction of gray wolves to Idaho. It marked 20 years since the wolves trapped in Canada were released in Yellowstone National Park. The events have been celebrated and denounced across the country.
On Jan. 12, 1995, eight wolves from Alberta were relocated to Yellowstone National Park by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service personnel. They were the first gray wolves in Yellowstone since they’d been extirpated in 1926. Wolves were released in central Idaho two days later. Another six wolves arrived in Yellowstone on Jan. 20, 1995.
The goal was to restore a native species and balance to a landscape where wolves had been absent for more than 70 years.