Debra J. Davidson, Defenders of Wildlife, Northeast Field Office, PO Box 468, Kents Hill, ME 04349, USA

This year (1999) the USFWS is proposing to begin the process for reclassifying the gray wolf on the Endangered Species List in many locations throughout the country. Approximately 17,000 square miles of potential wolf habitat exists in Maine. This fact as well as initiative by various groups in the northeast to conduct research and education on the subject has provided impetus for the USFWS to look closely at the possibility for wolf recovery in the northeast. Along with a proposal to downlist the wolf to threatened status in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York, the USFWS will also undertake the task of writing a wolf recovery plan specifically designed for this region. My research involved organizing and partaking in twenty informational public meetings throughout the state of Maine relative to the above from March - June 1999. Efforts were concentrated within Maine at this time because Maine is probably the most important state for potential northeast wolf recovery. These sessions offered Maine citizens the opportunity to learn about the federal rulemaking process and to whom, when and where to send comments in regard to the proposed reclassification. Education about wolves in general was also offered via slides and artifacts in order that Maine people could learn more about wolf biology, ecology and management issues. This research report reveals my findings relative to the knowledge, or lack thereof, and attitudes that Maine citizens possess in regard to wolves and the reclassification process. It also describes ways in which public presentations might be better designed and thus, more effective. The study will be used for exploring further what needs to be accomplished next in the northeast regarding wolf recovery and education. Potential hot spots in the state have now been profiled. Specific concerns that Maine people have can now be more precisely addressed. Furthermore, much of the information gained in this study can be applied to wolf education efforts throughout the entire Northeast.

(During these meetings I served as the Maine Field Representative of the International Wolf Center for whom I had been a Speaker's Bureau Representative since 1993. I am grateful for the trust that the IWC showed me regarding my ability to speak to this issue. Without their support, neither I nor the study would have been as effective, regardless of my degree in wildlife management from the University of Maine at Orono.)