The Red Wolf, once native to the southeastern United States, is critically endangered, with fewer than 20 individuals in the wild at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in eastern North Carolina. The red wolf population had grown to over 100 individuals before political pressure and agency mismanagement caused the population to plummet in 2016. The red wolf needs an outpouring of public support to secure a future in North Carolina. On the links above and below, you can read more about Red Wolves.
Heroic work by Defenders of Wildlife, over 100,000 letters from private citizens, and recovery work with the Red Wolves by a team of US Fish and Wildlife Service biologists has saved this world's most endangered canid--so far. But we cannot let up.
Every donation to the Defenders of Wildlife red wolf fund, big or small, is crucial to fund on-the-ground outreach and advocacy efforts on behalf of the red wolf, including legal action, grassroots organizing in our state, promotion of coexistence in the red wolf recovery area, and support of red wolf reintroductions into NC.
Thanks to First United Methodist Church and church member Christopher Lile, who is the Program Director at Wolf Park in Indiana, your contribution goes to work immediately. Christopher and the Asheville, NC, office of Defenders worked with FUMC Music Directors and the 2019 Concert for Conservation musicians, all of whom donated their talents, to put on this online fundraiser. The 2020 Concert for Conservation will be rescheduled this Fall as a virtual event.
Below, click on the video to hear Ben Prater, Southeast Program Director for Defenders of Wildlife, explain the crucial part Red Wolves play in preserving ecosystems--meaning people's livelihoods in farming, fishing, and tourism.
https://www.facebook.com/concertforconservation/videos/869456636867376/
Maintaining healthy ecosystems is crucial to mitigating the worst effects of climate change. At the top of one of our most important ecosystems, coastal North Carolina, is the Red Wolf. Wolves prevent the spread of diseases that threaten people and livestock by keeping populations of deer, which can host deadly insects. Wolves keep out non-native wildlife including coyotes.