Stories from the Packs

“There are 2 ways to share knowledge. You
can push information out or you can pull
them in with a story.”

Announcing the Pacific Wolf Family

Education is often said to be the key to conservation, and we agree. There is a substantial amount of information about wolves in the Pacific West, but what doesn’t exist is one format that collectively organized this information. As we continue to learn more about wolves, specifically their close family ties, it raised a question: Is there a wolf family tree?

What better way to reach others about wild wolves’ return to the Pacific West than through a family story? Stories are a powerful tool and connecting people with a visual story makes them that much more powerful and meaningful. We can relate to shared stories of family adventures and travels, knowing not every journey is easy or successful. Many of us have traveled or journeyed to unknown countries and landscapes, hoping to find that which we seek.

Honoring the stories of gray wolves’ return to the Pacific West and recognizing a need to provide the link to learning more about wolves, the Pacific West Family project was created. Lilia Letsch approached the Pacific Wolf Coalition a few months ago with this project idea and we are thrilled to announce its launch! Thanks to Lilia’s tremendous amount of hard work and time spent researching, compiling and organizing wolf pack information throughout three states, this collaborative project of the Pacific Wolf Coalition is now complete.

The Pacific Wolf Family is an engaging and eye-catching website and story map that provides a visual learning experience, while sharing a strong and inspiring message.Trail camera footage, maps (beautiful artwork created by Emma Munger) and pictures of gray wolf packs tell the story of the Pacific West Wolf Family Tree. In this way, the Pacific Wolf Family also raises awareness of gray wolves, their role in our ecosystem, dispels myths about wolves and informs the public of the conservation challenges wolves face and the role we play on their recovery. The more we can connect others with their family ties and history, the more we can connect with each other.

Explore the Pacific Wolf Family.

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There are 31 gray wolf packs, and counting, in the Pacific West.
Do you know their stories?

July 21^st: On this day in 2008, the Wenaha Pack’s existence was confirmed. This was the first gray wolf pack established in Oregon in over 60 years.

July 23rd: On this day in 2008, Washington confirmed the first gray wolf pack, the Lookout Pack, in the state since they were exterminated in the 1930s.

Visit the Pacific Wolf Family and the Story Map to learn more about the other gray wolf families of the Pacific West.

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We are inviting students in Kindergarten through High School in CA, OR and WA to participate in the Pacific Wolf Family Art Contest open from July 21st - August 21st, 2016!

Get your art supplies together, talk to your art teacher or local club leader, and create art inspired by one of the Pacific West wolf packs featured on the Pacific Wolf Family website!

We will feature contributions on the Pacific Wolf Family website in four grade categories: kindergarten, elementary, middle and high school. We will also share images of artworks on our Facebook page.

We welcome you to submit photos and/or videos of your artwork/s no later than August 21st to: coordinator@pacificwolves.org.

Artworks can be drawings, paintings, murals, sculptures, animations, or any other creative form that you would like to portray one of the pacific west wolf packs. Please attach a high quality photo of your artwork (at least 1MB in size) to your email, and include this information in the body of the email:

We will then ask the public to vote on their favorite artworks in each category on our Facebook page and announce the winners on social media and this website. Click here for more details.

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