RED WOLF REVIVAL: AN UNCERTAIN TOMORROW

****The following is a guest post from our friends at Nestbox Collective, who have recently embarked upon a new and fascinating film project. Roshan Patel and Madison McClintock are both recent graduates of the prestigous M.F.A. program in Science and Natural History Filmmaking at Montana State University. I was lucky enough to spend some time with both of these amazing young filmmakers at this year’s International Wildlife Film Festival (and interviewed Madison for our EOC podcast episode about IWFF!) during which they launched this their kickstarter campaign for this new film. I immediately made a pledge to their campaign upon watching their excellent film trailer, and I hope that you’ll consider doing the same!****

North Carolina is the last home to one of the most endangered mammals on the planet: The red wolf. The state has also signed a resolution that formally asks the federal government to abandon the recovery project and declare the wolves extinct in the wild.

Red wolves are an elusive species native to the southern US, and used to roam from Pennsylvania to Florida, and as far west as Texas. Because of habitat loss and hunting, the species was driven down to near extinction. Through a series of ambitious precautions, the wolves were successfully re-introduced to North Carolina, where they are found to this day. Now, roughly 100 individuals live in the wild and compose the last wild population of these animals in the world.

While North Carolinians anxiously await the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to continue or end the program, most of the country has yet to learn that these wolves exist.

Red Wolf Revival is a short film that investigates the Wildlife Resource Commission’s rationale that calls for extinction in the wild, and how people relate to this effort. Pushing for extinction in the wild as a possible solution to a problem is unique to this story, and one that is getting surprisingly little national coverage. The implications for this decision could set a national tone of our Endangered Species Act and how we value wildlife and wild spaces.

Public forums outline a “pro” and “anti” wolf debate, but the reality is that most people fall somewhere in the middle. This film highlights those middle-ground perspectives that could help the conversation reach a productive debate, rather than a divisive one.

If you are interested in supporting this film, please consider backing and sharing the Kickstarter campaign: http://kck.st/1bmx13L