About the author Debra Davidson is the Maine Wolf Project Associate for the National Wildlife Federation. She lives in south-central Maine on an old farmstead with her husband and son. As a wildlife biologist and educator for the National Wildlife Federation, I knew support for wolves was growing steadily in Maine. But the folks who poured into the hearing and spoke up for wolf recovery provided evidence to our federal and state officials of this growing support. I don't think they realized previously how solid the support was for wolf recovery in the Northeast.
Education is the key.
As I traveled our state giving presentations on wolves to schoolchildren, I discovered that many children already know the truth about wolves. They know their role as a top predator in the ecosystem. They know that wolves are very family-oriented and are often suggested as role models for how human families might operate. Our teachers deserve a lot of this credit. Instead they understand and appreciate the role of predators, including wolves.