Wolf Conservation Program

Raincoast’s Wolf Conservation Program is built on peer-reviewed science, public education, and wildlife management reform.

Photo by Michelle Valberg.

Raincoast’s wolf initiatives are working towards shifting the provincial management of gray wolves away from a poorly-informed and exploitation-based model to one that respects the welfare of wolves and their important role in functioning ecosystems. Our ultimate goal is to end the killing of wolves in British Columbia for the purposes of predator control, trophy, and perceived competition for shared prey. 

Moving towards coexistence

The level of human-caused wolf mortality in BC can only be described as staggering. In addition to the hundreds of wolves dying at the hands of lethal control programs (government sanctioned wolf culls), the BC government estimates that some 1,200 wolves are killed annually from recreational hunting and trapping, all sanctioned and encouraged by the province. To ensure that wolves continue their wild ways amidst an uncertain future, coexistence must replace killing wolves.

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A darkly coloured wolf with black highlights walks across the sand in the intertidal zone.
Photo by Colleen Gara.

Science-based approach

Our policy recommendations and advocacy on behalf of wolves are grounded in rigorous, peer-reviewed research and conservation ethics. With our community partners, we continue to gain scientific understanding about wolves across BC. This includes work on coastal wolves – a subspecies that has been found to be genetically distinct from their inland cousins, unique to the Pacific coast. Collaborative efforts among Raincoast scientists, Indigenous Nations, organizations, and several universities are creating contemporary knowledge about this globally unique wolf-deer-salmon system.

Questions we are asking

At Raincoast, we aim to apply and advance research methods that are minimally invasive to wildlife. Accordingly, much of our wolf research hinges on obtaining information from camera traps, acoustic loggers, and samples such as hair and scats, which we collect without capturing or handling wildlife. Through our research along the central and south coasts of BC, we hope to gain a better understanding of wolves and other apex predators in anthropogenically-disturbed populations, and their interactions with prey species in salmon-bearing watersheds. Along the south coast, we are conducting initial surveillance in tributaries of the Fraser River and working collaboratively to develop this research with the local First Nation.

  • How do wolves interact with their environment during disturbance?
  • How does seasonal salmon abundance influence the distribution and behaviour of wolves in wolf-ungulate-salmon systems?
  • How do apex predators, like wolves, contribute to carbon cycling in this unique system? 
  • What are the economic and ecological benefits of wolf presence in anthropogenic landscapes?
Wolf research papers
Wolf reports and books
Hand programming a wildlife cam.
A wolf prances across the ice with all four feet frozen in time floating above the ice, a chart floating in the distance.

Recommendations towards greater transparency in the science, science communication, and values-driven processes of natural resource management

A new paper, published by a team of researchers including Raincoast scientists, dives into the tangle of cognitive bias, institutional agendas, human interests, and pays special attention to the role of undisclosed value judgments.
Behind the Glass Hunting logo floats over top of a stunning image of a cougar on a beach.

Behind The Glass Hunting with Chris Darimont and Chris Pryn

Chris Darimont spoke with hunter and podcaster Chris Pryn to discuss their shared interests in hunting and habitat protection, and also to figure out where they disagree. It’s a remarkable interview, in part, because both Darimont and Pryn work so hard to have a respectful conversation despite their differences.
Coastal wolves stand in a loose group on the intertidal zone.

The perfect holiday gift that supports efforts to protect BC’s wolves

We have partnered with Ecologyst and an incredibly talented Tsleil-Waututh artist, Ocean Hyland, to make these exclusive 1200 Wolf Tee Shirts…
Coastal wolf

What would it be like to study wolves?

An interview with Dr. Heather Bryan who has been studying wolves with Raincoast since she was an undergraduate student…
A wolf stands relaxed in the intertidal zone in the Great Bear Rainforest.

Wolf School

Our aim is to broaden the public’s understanding of wolves, especially the wild population of wolves in British Columbia.
The Hunting Collective podcast brand to the left of Chris Darimont on a river in the central coast.

Exploring human dimensions of hunting via social science, evolutionary ecology, and personal experience

In episode 140 of The Hunting Collective podcast, Ben O’Brien does a fascinating and good-natured follow up interview with Dr. Barrie Gilbert. Dr. Gilbert is a prominent bear biologist, friend of Raincoast, and previous verbal sparring-partner with Ben (at least when it comes to the hunting of predators). Ben invited Dr. Gilbert back for another interview, and they made productive amends…
Wolf School with Heather Bryan.

Wolf School Episode 3 with biologist Dr. Heather Bryan

After our fantastic second episode with the Wolf Conservation Center’s Regan Downey last week, our next wolf school session will feature another inspiring scientist and educator, Dr. Heather Bryan. Now an Assistant Professor in Ecosystem Science and Management at the University of Northern BC, Heather has played a critical role in Raincoast’s work on coastal wolves and bears for many years…
A close up on the face and mouth of a wolf with white and grey markings while it howls.

Your invitation to Wolf School

With close family ties and complex communication, wolves live lives that humans can easily empathize with across cultures. Yet, the wolf is still persecuted, including here in BC…