Wolf Conservation Center

About our NGO partner

The Wolf Conservation Center teaches people about wolves, their relationship to the environment, and the human role in protecting their future.

The Wolf Conservation Center (WCC) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit environmental education NGO working to protect and preserve wolves in North America through science-based education, advocacy, and participation in the federal recovery and release programs for two critically endangered wolf species – the Mexican gray wolf and red wolf. The WCC’s three education wolves reside on exhibit where they help teach the public about wolves and their vital role in the environment. Through wolves, the WCC teaches the broader message of conservation, ecological balance, and personal responsibility for improved human stewardship of our World.

To best prepare the critically endangered wolves who are candidates for wild-release, the center’s 21 Mexican gray wolves and 12 red wolves reside off exhibit within the WCC’s Endangered Species Facility.

What we do at the Wolf Conservation Center

Nurturing the Wolves

We are home to 41 wolves (as of November 2020), most of them kept off-exhibit with the goal of one day releasing them into their wild ancestral landscapes. We are the preeminent facility in the eastern United States for the captive breeding and pre-release of endangered wolf species.

The WCC participates in the Species Survival Plan (SSP) and Recovery Plan for the Mexican gray wolf and the red wolf, which are among the rarest mammals in North America. Both species at one time were completely extinct in the wild. Under the aegis of the Endangered Species Act, reintroduction efforts in the past decade have established small, wild populations of about 7 known red wolves and 163 Mexican grays. To-date, five wolves from the Center have been given this extraordinary opportunity.

Educating the People

We teach about 40,000 people a year, mostly kids, about the importance of these predators and their impact on our lands, waters and culture. Our Ambassador Wolves and other programs reach people both at our 32-acre facility in South Salem, NY, and in schools, museums, libraries and nature centers throughout the Northeast. Our wolves aid our students in understanding the importance of their wild counterparts by allowing unprecedented personal interaction.

The Wolf Conservation Center’s newly developed interdisciplinary curriculum in wolf education will deepen the educational experience the Center can provide and expands the organization’s geographic reach.

Mobilizing Support

Our over a million supporters are guided and directed to make their voices heard on the numerous issues that continue to effect wolves in the wild. We believe every individual has the ability and responsibility to affect the world, as well as a voice (and the right to use it) to safeguard the future for generations to come.

We’re able to engage with a vast number of learners and supporters through our robust social media effort. Consistent, professional effort has resulted in a robust audience following our work here on Facebook where they are alerted to ways they can help save wolves locally and across North America, communicate effectively with their elected representatives, encourage personal responsibility for improved human stewardship of our World.