An ambitious “national wolf conversation” begun in the Biden administration has ended for now, although the voices can still be heard.
Convened under a three-year contract issued by the Fish and Wildlife Service, the wolf conversation ended up culminating a year early with a three-day session held last January in Tucson, Arizona. Now, some of the work is becoming available to the broader public with the release of brief participant commentaries, a 30-minute video and a “common ground” statement endorsed by all 22 of the nongovernmental participants in the January sessions.
“While we have many different experiences with and perspectives on wolves, we recognize that entrenched conflicts among humans over wolves benefit neither humans nor wolves,” the participants stated, adding that “rather than dehumanizing our opponents and pursuing one-sided wins, we choose to work toward common ground as a basis for creative, lasting solutions that will benefit our communities and the ecosystems that support us all.”
Veteran mediation consultant Francine Madden and her firm, Constructive Conflict, were hired in late 2023 to conduct what the Fish and Wildlife Service called “transparent and thoughtful conversations” about the gray wolf’s status under the Endangered Species Act.
