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The Wolf Conservation Center (WCC), founded in 1999 by Hélène Grimaud, is a private, not-for-profit environmental education organization located in South Salem, NY. The WCC’s mission is to promote wolf conservation by teaching about wolves, their relationship to the environment, and the human role in protecting their future. The WCC accomplishes this mission through onsite and offsite education programs emphasizing wolf biology, the ecological benefits of wolves and other large predators, and the current status of wolf recovery in the United States. Our programs are intended for various age groups and interests in an attempt to teach all individuals about the importance of protecting these essential predators.  The WCC also participates in the Species Survival Plan (SSP) and Recovery Plan for two critically endangered wolf species, the Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) and the red wolf (Canis rufus). The Mexican gray wolf and the red wolf are among the rarest mammals in North America; both species at one time were completely extinct in the wild. The WCC’s SSP exhibits offer visitors to the Center an opportunity to behold these species and our webcams extend the wolf families to a global audience. Some of these wolves can also contribute to the revitalization of their species more directly as participants of the SSP Wolf Captive Breeding program. A special faction of captive wolves, however, can have the most direct impact on the conservation of their species as well as their ancestral habitat in the wilds of North America. These wolves are candidates for release into the wild. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), under the Endangered Species Act, is re-introducing Mexican gray wolves and red wolves to portions of their historic range and we are hopeful that many of our wolves will receive the call of the wild over the next few years. 
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