My Nonprofit Reviews

Over its 14-year tenure, the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem New York has initiated more cost-effective educational programs, pivotal scientific studies and legislative efforts on behalf of canid species than any other 501[c][3] in its budgetary category. Without touting a purely intellectual or political platform, WCC has become a respected steward of North American wolves through captive breeding and pre-release programs, superb outreach efforts, and continuing leadership of USFWS Species Survival and Recovery Plans for two of the most endangered mammals on our continent: the red wolf and Mexican grey.

As a 40-year volunteer for education and conservation programs, I applaud WCC's historic focus on the conservation of wolf habitat, on canid life histories and behavior, on species ecology and human/animal coexistence. Unlike many wildlife orgs, they de-emphasize their "brand," the achievements of board members or purported technological dominance. Indeed, through eight WildEarth TV webcams, WCC was one of the first to spearhead canid citizen-science on a global scale through real-time observation and empirical study of canid behavior.

With a tightly-knit, balanced budget and scrupulous control of administrative costs, WCC derives an operating budget from more than eight diverse sources, and continues to serve wolf species through captive-breeding and release, behavioral research, civic activism and educational outreach to >35,000 citizens annually and hundreds of thousands through digital communication.

WCC's thought-provoking website is a hub for anyone who cares about wolf conservation and management. In particular, WCC's Executive Director, Maggie Howell, has fostered a professional culture that's upbeat and steady amidst growing political dysfunction in leading wolf states. With fierce intelligence and infectious enthusiasm, Maggie and her beloved Atka update our communities each day with scientific, ethical and political posts that impact wolf management and habitat. Her emphasis is sociobiological. She encourages us to protect and preserve the "society" of wolves as we would our own at its best.

Sure, there are other well-managed conservation orgs out there, but few have achieved comparable outcomes for their education, research and advocacy on a comparable budget or at similar speed. Like the "little engine that could," WCC has defied the odds, and become a voice of reason and ecological intelligence. The board and staff at WCC provide a dose of sanity to the perennial debate about wolves, humans and the habitat we share.

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