Decade of the Wolf: Returning the Wild to Yellowstone

by Gary Ferguson, Gary Ferguson

This definitive book--by the leader of the Yellowstone Wolf Project and an award-winning nature writer--recounts the ten riveting years since the reintroduction of wolves into the park.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Animals, Wolves, Science, History, Natural History

256 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2005

About the author

Nature writer, 1956-
Award-winning author Gary Ferguson has written for a variety of national publications, including Vanity Fair and the Chicago Tribune, and is the author of twenty-six books on nature and science. His memoir, The Carry Home, which the Los Angeles Times called “gorgeous, with beauty on every page,” was awarded “Best Nature book of the Year” by the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute. Gary is the co-founder of Full Ecology, with his wife, social scientists Mary M. Clare.

Reviews

[Paul Corrigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unintended consequence of reading "Decade of the Wolf" was the way it stirred in me a certain ambivalence, as a hunter, over the return of wolves to the landscape. Naturally, I love to spend time in country where there is a fair amount of deer and moose sign (I live in north central Maine). I can't help but worry about the impact this wild, canine competitor may have on my prospects of seeing and, even shooting deer and moose. This ambivalence, however, in no way diminished my pleasure reading about wolf reintroduction to Yellowstone Park. The book was completely absorbing, fascinating and inspiring, as it spoke about the painstaking work, the set backs, and the hard won triumphs of the effort to restore wolves to the Yellowstone ecosystem. The tenacity of the wolf packs, their devotion to their pups, their ardent defense of their territory and their ability to adapt to the different Yellowstone environments and seize opportunities to take down even quarry as formidable as Bison, created page-turning drama. I can't help but surmise that Wildlife biologist Douglas Smith's astute observations of wolf behavior were helped along by Journalist Gary Ferguson's poetic eye for natural landscape and his knowledge and love of the Mountain West.

As to my issues as a hunter, I had only to look to the writing of that great conservationist Aldo Leopold (mentioned in "Decade of the Wolf") for an eloquent statement of how he, as a fellow nimrod, resolved the conflict of sharing his hunting grounds with a creature that, in truth, had the prior claim on them. (Leopold's regret at shooting the wolf is expressed in a well known passage from his writing) Leopold essentially knew that a mountain bereft of its wolves was greatly diminished and lacking in biological integrity and spiritual significance. On those occasions when I've been deep in the Maine Woods hunting or canoeing, and heard a spine tingling howl that sounded a bit too deep and throaty for the local coyotes, I've been inclined to agree with Leopold.
--Paul Corrigan

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you would not love an personal, guided tour of Yellowstone with Doug Smith then either 1) You have not thought about it hard enough or 2) You have not yet watched a sufficient number of nature documentaries on Netflix.

Smith has studied wolves all his life, in the West and on Isle Royale, and he was part of the Yellowstone reintroduction from its very beginning. He knows each of the wolves like members of his extended family and is as familiar with the progress and quirks of wolf research as a BBC fan is with theories of Sherlock's survival.

This book is fascinating. It's conversationally written so that you can pretend that you and Doug Smith are just riding along on trail horses in the backwoods and he's telling you stories about his friends, the wolves.

I enthusiastically recommend this book.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was in college in Northern Idaho when the wolf reintroduction began in practice. I remember it being very controversial. I think it still is but I really liked this nice balance of the political, economic, ecological and anecdotal of the reintroduction. It was very nicely done. I have often wondered what the reintroduction of the top prey into the Yellowstone ecosystem had effected and while this is not definitive (too early and too many other factors) it certainly educated me.

[hare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written & insightful, for those interested in the Yellowstone wolf reintroduction project.

[Hilary A · Rating 5 out of 5]

First review ever, for a simply amazing book. I bought this book while in Yellowstone and devoured it on the flight home. It talks about the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park from the point of view of Doug Smith. Written beautifully and simply, it is easily understood. The pictures included in the book help illustrate the author's thoughts, although the beautiful writing doesn't need much help. Since it's written from the point of view of a staff member from the start of the reintroduction, it naturally has anecdotes, most of them informative, touching or funny. This book can only be improved with a trip to Yellowstone, where you can see for yourself exactly how majestic the wolf is. Cannot recommend highly enough.

[Claire Sudol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Doug smith I want him to be my friend

[Ken W · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably the book I’ve read most times in my life, beginning in 2005, when my teachers read passages from it as we sat in the original Yellowstone pen where the wolves had been introduced from Canada, a decade before.

The book is nothing short of magical to me, perfectly written and deeply poignant. The chapters alternate between the story of the reintroduction and stories of individual wolves from the original set—wolves whose descendants make up the vast majority of wolves in the Lower 48.
Highly recommend to anyone interested in American history, ecology, etc.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

listened to this driving around yellowstone and then ended up going out to look for wolves. we saw ~15 wolves!!! including 907, the oldest, and one-eyed, female wolf in yellowstone at 11 and her pups in a dog pile! absolutely insane, nature is so beautiful! go outside, and learn about the outdoors

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recently re-read after reading in college. A nice overview, short and to the point and easy to read. Book drags at parts but tells an important and interesting story.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating, on-point, and well written portrait of the wolves of Yellowstone and the story of their reintroduction into the park. A must read.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5. Very enjoyable and educational.

[Mike Courson · Rating 5 out of 5]

From my review of Rick McIntyre's Reign of Wolf 21:
When I first visited Yellowstone (it's 18 hours away) in Sept. 2019, I had no interest in wolves. When watching nature shows about the park to get a lay of the land, I actually hated the wolves. Still hated them for a while after.
A few months later I read Death in Yellowstone. Then Death in Grand Canyon. The author of the latter book casually mentions Michael Robinson's Predatory Bureaucracy about the drive to kill wolves in the west. I found that big can bring high prices and managed to find a copy for under $10. My love of wolves began.
Review: Before a return trip to Yellowstone just 10 months after the first, I dived head deep into wolf books and material. No one does it better than Doug Smith. His presentations available on Youtube are excellent. I believe it is the documentary The Trouble With Wolves, where Smith really flexes his muscle. While a staunch advocate of the wolves, he also understands the nuisance they can be (but there are definitely more humane ways of handling it than we've done in the past).
Being on the frontline of the wolf reintroduction to Yellowstone in 1995, Smith offers some great insight into the project and its results. From the selection of the wolves, to the security required to get them in the park, to all the untold benefits of having a natural predator like wolves in the park, Smith offers a great deal of first-hand working knowledge and science.
There is deeper reading to be found on wolves, but Smith's book is a quick read. It's mostly specific to Yellowstone so any reader wanting a quick once over how how and why there are now wolves in the park and what it means for flora and fauna in the area, this is a great one-stop shop for all that.

[Rita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having visited Yellowstone this past fall, I was very excited to read this book and more about the reintroduction of the wolf to the National Park's landscape. The authors weave person accounts of interaction with the wolfs in with the scientific data collected on wolf culture and behavior. Though a bit out of date now (five years from where the book leaves off) this book was perfect for learning more about how the reintroduction was carried out and the first few years of those few wolves actions and how they fared. A short read for anyone interested in learning just a bit on the subject.

Funny enough as I was close to finishing the book, Public Television had a program on this very subject running. It was interesting to have read about this and then being able to see the wolves in action from the tape they had gather over the decade in question.

[Margo · Rating 2 out of 5]

My summary - Doug Smith was one of the main biologists on the Yellowstone Wolf Project. He wrote this book about his experience, highlighting some of the wolves and explaining his roles and the basics of the project. Basically, the wolves were eliminated in Yellowstone in 1925 because ranchers around the park were frustrated with the prospect of them killing livestock and killing elk they wanted to hunt. Then, the elk population ballooned. People thought the population would even out when they ran out of food, but instead they absolutely stripped the land of plants and still were overpopulated. The park service then eliminated huge amounts of elk, which made ranchers mad again because they were worried about the population and they wanted to hunt the elk. Wolves were then reintroduced in 1995 to control the population. There was a political hot spot. None of the states wanted to take part because the wolf was politically divisive. When they decided to reintroduce the wolves, they chose chunks from a few Canada packs so that they would stick together. They naturally breed with other non-relatives. They put them into reacclimation pens instead of just releasing them, which helped them survive and stay in the area. Some of them did wander out of the park and were accidentally shot. Some had to be relocated. Others succeeded against all odds and they learned to hunt elk again and even bison and moose. The project overall was a success, as wolves have helped rebalance the ecosystem - they’re eating the elk, which are not eating the trees, which are helping beavers come back. They’re keeping the coyote population down, which in turn is helping small rodents come back and providing more food for raptors. They have affected numerous areas of the ecosystem and are a very valuable asset.
My review - the set up of this book was fairly confusing. there was a couple prefaces, then it jumped into one of the flyovers then went back and forth between facts of the project and profiles of wolves. I thought it should’ve been set up chronologically, starting from the beginning and working through all the steps. It was set up more like a Q&A. What was your favorite day on the project? Who is a wolf that stood out? How did you release the wolves?
Why I read - first visit to Yellowstone!
When to read - first visit to Yellowstone!

[Mike Kane · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Held within a wolf's gaze has been everything I've needed to keep alive my sense of connection to the earth. The fact that I live in a time when these sorts of opportunities are increasingly rare has on one hand left me with with a profound feeling of gratitude for being able to do the work I do. On the other hand, that very same rarity-the fact that it's become unusual for people to have any sort of regular dose of nature, let alone trading stares with a wolf-leaves me acutely aware of how much the culture has lost. Gone from most people's lives are the simple, wondrous prompts of nature, triggers that once sparked in us not just a sense of beauty but also the pleasures of place. Therein sits the weight, the burden of these times. And it lies heavy as a stone in the heart of even the richest life."

Given all that we have lost, and all that we stand to lose going forward...it seems ashamed we are in such a rush to destroy what little nature is left to us. All in the name of quick, short sighted grabs at jobs, money.

Policies put to the back burner, this book sets aside the a right and left narrative, largely focusing on the actual science and observations of the reintroduction. Combine that with profile overviews about a number of wolves, and this book is an excellent read.

[Robert Waldron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by a man who has lived daily with the wolves of Yellowstone for many years, monitoring their
re-introduction, behaviour, packs, and distribution, you would probably not find more of an expert
on the new wolves in Yellowstone.
The book reflects this knowledge admirably, and further shows just how important it is to an ecosystem to have its full suite of predators, to create balance and harmony.
A fine read for those who love natural history, and the caring and informed conservation of natural things, that will bring you greater enjoyment of the Park and its beauty.

Disclosure: I worked briefly with Doug Smith and his wolf team from 2000 to 2001 filming a documentary (Double Pack: Wild Dogs and Wolves) for Animal Planet. Their daily dedication and commitment to the re-introduced wolves was an inspiration.

[Kim Clune · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tracking Thoughts on Yellowstone Wolf Restoration

It’s fascinating to follow Doug Smith’s experience introducing wolves back to Yellowstone National Park and tracking their movement, behavior, successes, travesties, pairings and pack growth. Each pack certainly has a distinguishing skill or behavior as does each individual wolf. Having seen several packs in action through January and February of 2019, it’s easy to understand the awe these animals instill, in Doug Smith and millions of YNP visitors.

But to understand what it took to return these predators to this landscape after years of human inhalation, and to lean how Park boundaries are artificial lines drawn through an ecosystem that mean sudden death, oftentimes, when crossed, we need to do all we can to protect these animals and the natural order they bring to the flora, elk, coyote, beavers moose, and birds.

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book covers multiple aspects of the wolf reintroduction to Yellowstone. The chapters primarily alternate between those talking about wolfs generally, the reintroduction and things that have been learned generally with chapters featuring stories of individual wolves. With the bulk of the information being about what has happened and been observed since wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone. There are also some pages of lovely color photos. I found the general wolf information chapters the most interesting. As you can only get to know so much about a wild animal by periodically observing it from a plane the individual wolf chapters came across as fairly superficial and leaving me wanting for more. Was also wanting for more due to the fact that I read this book 10+ years after it was published so was very curious as to what the latest was.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m in awe of the passion of all those involved in the reintroduction project - whether employed or volunteers. I admire their passion, drive, and determination. They let no roadblocks stop them from success. Tenacious - like the wolves they worked to save!

The wolves, though. They are the ones who deserve the kudos. What they endured throughout this project makes me sad because it never should have even been necessary. But it was and it’s our own fault. It was hard to read about their capture, their time in the metal crates, the acclimation pens, the collars, the darting… but I get it. I’m thankful. But they will never be 100% safe from humans.

I thought the authors did a great job pulling a tough story together to share with the world. 🙏🐺 A 5🌟read, for sure!

[KaylaJo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am always in a state of awe when reading about the wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone.
“What this reintroduction may show is that we can restore ecosystems to some semblance of what they were before European settlement. And more important still, that we can live with them.”
I think this story, of how humans wiped wolves out of North America and now have been able to reintroduce them, is a very important one to hear and to share. And this book told that story in a truly captivating way. The snapshots of the various wolves were mesmerizing and sometimes heartbreaking. I fell in love with every single one. The concerns of people against wolf reintroduction were gold and addressed in a very unbiased way, which is vital. Definitely a five star read.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book about the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park. The authors take a very balanced view of the situation, but are definitely sympathetic to the wolf reintroduction. They take time to look at the concerns of the local ranchers and hunters and are respectful of their positions. I loved that the book was loaded with descriptions of wolf behavior and included several amazing photographs of the wolves. I recommend this book to any wolf or animal lover and also to those who are curious about why they decided to bring wolves back to Yellowstone. It was interesting to learn about the positive impact it has had on the whole ecosystem there.

[Issak Flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book covering the history of how the wolf became extinct in Yellowstone and the process of reintroduction of this once native animal, who now became exotic in the yellow stone national park.

Gary Ferguson takes the reader on the Clinton administrations mission to bring back the wolf, the farmers who opposed such a move, so much so that local farmers would have stickers on their cars calling to deport the wolfs back to Canada. The book also goes in depth about how these wolves faced unique challenges after being imported from Canada, the UK, and some other state I can’t remember off the top of my head.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fabulous book about wolves, with a specific focus on the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in wolves. I found it more readable than Barry Lopez’s Of Wolves and Men, which was less of a story. This is the author’s experience with wolf reintroduction at Yellowstone, darting and collaring wolves, tracking the packs throughout the decade after reintroduction, understanding the impacts that the wolves have had on the ecosystem, and considering the impacts of climate change for wolves and their prey in the future.

[Kathleen Nowak · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book as I love animals and recently went to Yellowstone. It was a bit confusing to keep track of the different wolf stories as the wolf’s were referred to with numbers not names. The narratives about each wolf and the group dynamics were interesting. I like the insight into how wolves live and adapt as well. Sometimes I felt like the author jumped around between stories a bit too much and I guess that would leave me feeling a bit disconnected. Over all a good read.

[Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating and well written account of the project to restore wolves to Yellowstone National Park. It begins with the capture of the first wolves in Canada and their acclimatization to Yellowstone, their release and expansion into multiple packs over a ten year period with lots of information on wolf behavior. I loved it.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an easy-to-read, riveting summary of the first ten years of Yellowstone wolves, from capture in Canada to spread throughout the park. The profiles of individual wolves made me feel like I really knew them on a personal level and the whole thing was full of fascinating tidbits and evocative passages. Recommended to natural history and wolf-lovers alike.

[Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my absolute favorite books. The combination of process and science with the stories of individual wolves really drew me in. It helped me to focus my love of nature and interest in how natural predators effect an ecosystem. It is a great book for anyone who loves biology and large mammals.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purchased this book back in 2009 while in Yellowstone, and even had it signed by Doug Smith after hearing him speak at the Roosevelt Lodge. I started the book back then but didn't get far. Fast forward to 2020. We are self-isolating at home due to the coronavirus. The libraries are shut down. I decided I need to read the books lying around the house.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

A super choppy book - parts of it are really, really interesting and parts of it are kind of meh, but in general this is a book I'll be thinking about for some time to come; microhistories like the stories of packs of wolves from essentially a God-perspective are really neat for me to read. It almost has a fable-like quality to it in parts because of it ...

[Hilary Staples · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read while spending time in Yellowstone. So fun to talk to some of the people mentioned in the book and view some of the collared wolves still holding their packs keeping the story going today.