What additional land use restrictions might the federal government impose to protect wolves?
The most likely designation for any wolves reintroduced to the Olympic Peninsula would be as a “non-essential, experimental population” under section 10(j) of the Endangered Species Act. This designation implies that removal or loss of these populations would not jeopardize the species’ survival. As a result, restrictions applied to other threatened or endangered species may not be necessary. Restrictions only would be placed on Olympic National Park and these would be minimal, such as temporary closures around active den sites. Timber harvest on Olympic National Forest would not be limited by wolf reintroduction. Olympic National Park does not harvest timber.
