U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Gray Wolf Range in the Contiguous United States
Historical Range Range at time of listing as endangered
Current range and Mexican wolf recovery area
Gray wolves once ranged over most of the lower
48 states. They were only absent from a portion
of California, the southwest corner of Arizona
and from the red wolf range in the southeastern
United States. By the time gray wolves were
listed as an endangered species, their breeding
range had been reduced to a small corner of
northeastern Minnesota and Isle Royale,
Michigan. Individual wolves were periodically
observed in the west, but there were no breeding
packs. Recovery efforts have since restored the
wolf to many areas of its historical range,
including portions of the southwest, the Rocky
Mountains and the western Great Lakes region.
