PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 13, 2020
DNA from a scat sample found near the Canadian border last summer came back 85 percent wolf, according to the Maine Wolf Coalition. It’s the first documented case of a live Eastern wolf in the U.S., and the first evidence of a wolf of any kind in Maine since the 1990s. Elsewhere, the wolf has been a topic of great debate, generally pitting conservationists against the interests of hunters, farmers and ranchers. A federal analysis found that Maine had “large areas of suitable wolf habitat” that could support between 488 and 1,170 wolves. Any recovery, however, faces obstacles. Where will Maine ultimately come down? The answer, like the presence of wolves themselves, is up in the air.