Harvard Honors Nez Perce Wolf Recovery Program

The Nez Perce Tribe’s wolf recovery program was one of eight tribal efforts nationwide honored this week by Harvard University.

The $10,000 award was presented at the annual conference of the National Congress of American Indians being held in Palm Springs, Calif. Several members of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee, including chairman Samuel Penney, accepted the award.

Sixty programs were considered for the “High Honors” Award bestowed by Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Programs are judged on effectiveness, contribution to selfgovernance and self-determination of an American Indian nation, transferability, creativity and sustainability.

The tribe’s gray wolf program developed under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with the goal to recover and manage wolves in Idaho. Since the original releases of 15 animals in 1995 and an additional release of 20 wolves in 1996, the Idaho wolf population has expanded to more than 115 wolves in 12 packs, spread across 13 million acres in north central Idaho. In 1996, the tribe documented the first wolf reproduction in Idaho in 60 years.