Once that determination is made, the draft EA or EIS must be prepared and released for public review and comment. After the final EA or EIS is completed, a final document, the Record of Decision, would be prepared before any action could be taken. This type of public input and decision-making process usually takes about three to four years. Wolf restoration is in keeping with National Park Service policy, which supports restoration of extirpated species where feasible. Gray wolf restoration is listed as a long-term goal on Olympic National Park's Resource Management Plan, but no work had been done on it prior to 1997.
Tribal representatives are part of the interagency group working on possible gray wolf restoration.
Congress has directed the Olympic Natural Resource Center to conduct a public outreach and opinion gathering project in 1998. As plans for this project are finalized, information on public comment opportunities will be widely announced and publicized. If an EA or EIS is developed, the public will be asked to help identify issues that should be addressed in the document. Any EA or EIS process will also include a public comment period. Additionally, you are encouraged to contact anyone from the following list at any point throughout the process.