1. Is the Alexander Archipelago wolf a unique subspecies of gray wolf?
For this 12-month finding, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reviewed Alexander Archipelago wolf (Canis lupus ligoni) as a valid subspecies of gray wolf that occupies southeastern Alaska and coastal British Columbia. We based our conclusion on the best available information, including genetic analyses conducted since 2016 when the status of the Alexander Archipelago wolf was last considered.
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2. Where do Alexander Archipelago wolves live?
Alexander Archipelago wolves are linked to the temperate rainforest environment and often den in cavities beneath the big root systems of very large, old trees. The Alexander Archipelago wolf currently occurs along the mainland of southeastern Alaska and coastal British Columbia west of the Coast Mountain Range and on larger islands in this area except Admiralty, Baranof, and Chichagof Islands and all the Haida Gwaii, or Queen Charlotte Islands.
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3. What is the current population estimate for the Alexander Archipelago wolf?
The Service estimates a current range-wide population of about 2,240 Alexander Archipelago wolves. Approximately 1,250 Alexander Archipelago wolves inhabit southeastern Alaska, and the remaining 990 occur in coastal British Columbia.
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4. What is a 12-month finding?
When the Service receives a petition to list a species as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), it first reviews the information submitted to determine whether it presents substantial information that listing may be warranted (called a 90-day finding). If the petition is determined to be “substantial”, the Service has one year from the date of receipt to issue a determination on whether listing is warranted (called a 12-month finding). The 12-month finding can result in one of three determinations: the species does not warrant federal protection; the species does warrant federal protection but is precluded from being listed by other higher priority actions; or the species warrants federal protection, and the Service will issue a proposed rule to list it under the ESA.
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5. What is the larger context of this 12-month finding and what is the final determination?
In 1993, the Service received a petition to list the Alexander Archipelago wolf as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, and in 1997 issued a finding that listing was not warranted. In 2011, the Service received a second petition to list the species as either threatened or endangered, and in response issued another "not warranted" finding in 2016. The most recent petition to list the Alexander Archipelago wolf as endangered or threatened under the ESA was submitted to the Service in July 2020 by the Center for Biological Diversity, Alaska Rainforest Defenders, and Defenders of Wildlife.
In 2021, the Service determined that the petition to list the Alexander Archipelago wolf contained substantial information such that listing may be warranted and initiated a rigorous Species Status Assessment. In the Service’s 12-month finding on the petition, it was determined that listing is not warranted after conducting a review of the species’ status, using the best available Western science and Indigenous Knowledge.
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6. What information did the Service consider in determining that listing is not warranted?
Section 4(a)(1) of the ESA requires the Service to determine whether a species is endangered or threatened based on one or more of the following factors: (1) The present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of the species’ habitat or range; (2) Overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes; (3) Disease or predation; (4) The inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanism; or (5) Other natural or human-made factors affecting the species’ continued existence.
In making this decision, the Service conducted a thorough review of these factors for the Alexander Archipelago wolf using the best available Western science, interviews with Indigenous Knowledge Bearers, and commercial information, as outlined in a peer-reviewed Species Status Assessment and the report “Indigenous Engagement with the Alexander Archipelago Wolf: An Applied Study of Culture and Traditional Ecological Knowledge”.
To assess future viability of the Alexander Archipelago wolf, the Service evaluated population conditions 30 years into the future. The Service developed future scenarios that capture the range of plausible future conditions for the Alexander Archipelago wolf and its habitat, including the impacts of disease and wolf harvest.
The Service identified multiple threats that may be impacting individuals and populations of the Alexander Archipelago wolf; some affect wolves indirectly, and others affect wolves directly. Key threats examined as part of this assessment include timber harvest, road development, wolf harvest, and inbreeding. Of these, wolf harvest is the only source of direct mortality that may have an impact at the population and range-wide levels. Although road development has little direct effect on wolves, roads provide access for hunters and trappers to areas that otherwise may be inaccessible or difficult to access.
Timber harvest influences deer habitat capability and abundance, which can impact wolf populations, especially if other ungulate prey species are not available. Evidence of inbreeding has been documented in wolves in the southern portion of Southeast Alaska, including the Prince of Wales Island complex. While not definitely linked to inbreeding depression, these levels of inbreeding are likely to be negatively impacting population fitness, genetic diversity, and evolutionary adaptive capacity. The Service also considered disease and impacts.
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7. Are wolves in southeastern Alaska different or distinct from wolves in coastal British Columbia?
The ESA allows the listing and delisting of species, subspecies, and distinct population segments (DPS) of vertebrate animals. To qualify as a DPS under Service policy, a population segment must be both “discrete” and biologically or ecologically “significant” to the species as a whole.
The Service determined the southeastern Alaska population segment is delimited by international governmental boundaries within which significant differences in control of exploitation, management of habitat, conservation status, or regulatory mechanisms exist, and, as a result, is “discrete” under the Service’s DPS policy. Then, the agency considered the importance of the population segment to the broader taxon to which it belongs. Based on a review of the best available information, it was determined the southeastern Alaska population segment satisfied the “significance” criteria under the Service’s DPS policy because the population makes up approximately 56 percent of the species’ population across its entire range and loss of the population would result in a significant gap in the range. Therefore, wolves in southeastern Alaska qualify as a DPS under the Service’s 1996 DPS policy.
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8. What are the next steps in the process?
The Service’s finding is a final agency action. The agency will pursue opportunities to work with partners to conserve wolf populations in southeastern Alaska and coastal British Columbia. We ask the public to submit to us at any time any new information relevant to the status of the Alexander Archipelago wolf.
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9. Where can I learn more about the Alexander Archipelago wolf and the Endangered Species Act?
About the ESA process
Download the ESA fact sheet
Alexander Archipelago wolf
Visit the Alexander Archipelago wolf species profile
Rainforest Wolves of Alaska’s Alexander Archipelago
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