by John W. Burch (Author), National Park Service (Editor), Thomas J. Meier (Author)
This paper introduces a wolf monitoring protocol for the Central Alaska Network. This network consists of three units of the U.S. National Park system; Denali national Park and Preserve, Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve, and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. The Central Alaska Network has identified Fauna Distribution and Abundance as one of its top three vital signs for tracking major drivers of ecosystem change. Wolves (Canis lupus) occur in all three network parks. The primary objectives of wolf monitoring were to track the distribution and abundance of wolves using the Standard Operating Procedures. This data impacts and is of great value for wildlife management and research.