00:14With wolves, currently they are protected on the endangered species list because the Endangered Species Act is a law that
00:21protects animals that are on that list.
00:23However, unfortunately due to a bill called HR 845 that is trying to delist wolves or take them off of
00:32the endangered species list and it has recently passed the House so that is not good for wolves because then
00:39they would not be afforded those protections across the United States.
00:43That being said, there are three states that regardless of whether wolves are on the endangered species list, they can
00:50still legally hunt and kill wolves. Wyoming, Montana and Idaho are those three states and so they unfortunately can still
00:58kill wolves even if the wolves are on the endangered species list.
01:01We focus here specifically on recovery and release for red wolves and Mexican gray wolves. We're part of a program
01:09called the SAFE program, which is an acronym. It means saving animals from extinction and it's a partnership.
01:17So we have US Fish and Wildlife Service on one side of that partnership and then you have conservation centers
01:23like ours as well as certain zoos.
01:25So we participate together to really be able to help red wolves and Mexican gray wolves. For us, what that
01:31looks like is we give the red wolves and Mexican gray wolves a home here at our center.
01:36We also allow them to breed in captivity and then we participate in those releases for those wolves.
01:42We have 32 acres of land. We were founded in 1999 and this kind of land that we have here
01:50is a great space for the wolves.
01:52So we have our offices on the center on campus and then we also have enclosures for our red wolves
01:58and Mexican gray wolves.
02:00Each wolf or pair gets their own wolf pair or family, I should say, get their own enclosure that's just
02:06for them.
02:07And then we also have our ambassador gray wolves. Those wolves are not are not part of that recovery and
02:13release program, that SAFE program.
02:15So they get their own enclosure, but they're not part of that release potential that the red wolves and Mexican
02:23gray wolves are part of.
02:24So we have 27 wolves that are currently at our center. We have our 10 Mexican gray wolves. We also
02:31have 14 red wolves.
02:32And then we have our three ambassador gray wolves. The SAFE program is really essential.
02:37We wanted to make sure that we were part of that program because it's really what is allowing that goal
02:43of recovery to really kind of come to fruition.
02:46There's a lot of moving parts when it comes to conservation. So to really be able to participate in that
02:51SAFE program is really wonderful for us.
02:54We want to make sure that there's as many wolves out in the wild as they possibly could be.
03:00And so we're really happy to be able to participate in that SAFE program.
03:04How do you finance your projects?
03:06Sure. So we are completely financed by folks donating to us and our large scale donors as well.
03:13So program fees, individuals that are making donations to our center and then those donors as well.
03:19So we're very fortunate that we're able to get our funding in that way.
03:23We have educational programs throughout the year. We typically have them every weekend.
03:28And we get to talk a little bit about what we do here at the center with folks.
03:31We get to talk about the ways that we help wolves, the conservation challenges that they're facing.
03:36We also get to talk about the ways that they can help wolves as well.
03:39And those programs also involve going up to see our ambassador wolves in their enclosures.
03:43And there's the potential to see red wolves and Mexican gray wolves as well.
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