An eastern wolf near Algonquin Park in Ontario.John and Mary Theberge
The eastern wolf, found only in Ontario and Quebec, has been upgraded to a threatened species by the federal government, which says there may be as few as 236 adults in Canada.
The new designation gives the wolves protection from hunters on federal lands, and means Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault must devise a plan for recovering the species’ numbers, including by addressing the loss of its natural habitat.
The federal Environment Department says it is difficult to identify eastern wolves and distinguish them from wolf-coyote hybrids, so it is preparing an education campaign to help people spot the elusive and little-known species, and prevent the wolves being hunted by accident.
Eastern wolves, which tend to have reddish-brown or tawny fur, live in family-based packs and hunt white-tailed deer, moose and beaver. They were previously thought to be a subspecies of the grey wolf but genetic analysis found they are a unique species and were classified as such in 2015.
Their territory is now restricted to the forests of central Ontario and southwestern Quebec, in the Great-Lakes-St Lawrence Region.
The government estimates there are likely to be fewer than 1,000 adults left, and possibly as few as 236, mainly located in protected areas including Algonquin Provincial Park.
Hannah Barron, conservation director of Wolf Awareness, which researches wolves, said listing eastern wolves as threatened “is a positive step,” but does not offer them much more protection from hunting and trapping.
“There is not much federal land in the species’ range, and certainly not enough to increase the overall protected area required for recovery,” she said.
“What the eastern wolf needs are science-based recovery strategies in Ontario and Quebec and for these to be heeded – that means prohibiting killing both wolves and similar-looking eastern coyotes throughout the entire area where eastern wolves have been found or are likely to be living and breeding.”
Environment and Climate Change Canada reclassified the eastern wolf as a threatened species based on scientific advice it received from the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada in 2015. They are already listed as threatened in Ontario.
Amelie Desmarais, a spokesperson for the department, said it is already “working on a recovery strategy” to increase eastern wolf numbers.
The new designation for the eastern wolf may have an impact on plans to build a nuclear waste dump at Chalk River on a forested area northwest of Ottawa. Genetic testing has found that eastern wolves roam on the site owned by Atomic Energy of Canada. An analysis is now required of how the planned construction activity will affect eastern wolves there.
Kebaowek First Nation in Quebec has filed three judicial reviews in Federal Court in an attempt to halt the planned Chalk River nuclear waste dump that the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission approved for construction earlier this year.
One of its court filings argues that the 3,700-hectare Chalk River site is “uniquely rich in biodiversity.” It says field work done by Kebaowek First Nation found that the eastern wolf, “a species of great cultural importance to Algonquin peoples,” actively uses the site.
The Federal Court action challenges Mr. Guilbeault’s decision to issue a permit under the Species at Risk Act to build the nuclear waste dump on the forested area.
Kebaowek Chief Lance Haymond said in an e-mail that “the timing of this uplifting of status of the Eastern wolf makes us extremely happy as we have stated all along that the protection of fauna and their habitat needed to be taken into account.”
He said it is now “incumbent upon the minister to revisit his decision” now the status of the wolf has been upgraded, adding he “has a responsibility to protect the wolf on federal lands.”
Canadian Nuclear Laboratories did not respond to a request to comment.