Wolves bring new life back into an ecosystem. They can help restore balance through their role as a top predator of the wilderness. In the Cascade mountains in the state of Washington, wolves came back after being gone for over 70 years. They were known as the Lookout Pack. Sadly though only two wolves remain now from this original pack due to being severely reduced by illegal killing specifically by members of a Methow Valley family.

But on the heels of this sad announcement springs forth the discovery of a new wolf pack last summer. Images caught on remote cameras show multiple animals in one shot, confirming the presence of a pack, as opposed to just one wolf. Also WDFW trapped and collared a lactating female wolf, a good sign that the pack may be producing pups.

In order to address this challenge to wolf recovery in Washington, Conservation Northwest recently partnered with WDFW to establish a state reward fund to apprehend poachers. Following right along side of this, the state has convened a diverse group of stakeholders, including Conservation Northwest, to develop a state recovery and management plan for wolves. Together they are working to make sure that as wolves return to Washington they are managed in a way that minimizes hardship on local ranchers and hunters, while still allowing the wolves to recover.

An enthralling film was also made to document the return of the very special wolf pack to the snowy peaks of Washington's Cascade Mountains. The Lookout Pack was the first to return to the American Northwest in 70 years. In it Conservation Northwest’s Jasmine Minbashian leads a team of biologists to discover the fate of this pioneer pack of wolves. Quotes Jasmine Minbashian, "The return of wolves is one of the greatest conservation success stories of our time."

The film documents events from the high of first finding pups on Conservation Northwest's cameras, to the low of learning that most of the pack had been killed by poachers, then back to another high of our cameras finding a new Cascades pack again. It contains many twists and turns in the real life plot with a lot of drama, which makes it a very fascinating film to watch. The film premieres on July 7th on the Discovery Channel. Be sure to watch!