The Homecoming of Hîmiin

A long time coming.

The gray wolf, or hîmiin in the Nez Perce language, occupies an important place within Nez Perce culture.  Wolves have particular religious and spiritual significance to many Nez Perce, and individuals throughout history have adopted or been given the name Wolf in various forms to reflect that relationship.  Nez Perce leaders have pointed to similarities between Nez Perce culture and the social structure of wolves in terms of support for one another, the importance of family bonds, and use of the landscape.  Others have noted similarities in the ways in which the Nez Perce and wolves were treated during Euro-American expansion into the Tribe’s homeland. The wolf is also viewed as a leader of animals, including many ungulates, and serves an influential role in how those animals live and move across the landscape.

The opportunity to participate in the recovery of wolves within the Tribe’s homeland remains of great significance and pride to the Tribe.  For the Nez Perce, our participation in wolf recovery represents an ongoing exercise in sovereignty and an opportunity, so rare over the past two centuries, to lead the recovery of our own homeland.

Our participation was far from certain, however.  Regional and national discussions to recover wolves in the Northern Rockies began in the late 1980s, and in 1991 Congress directed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement to recover wolves in central Idaho as well as Yellowstone National Park.  The Tribe voiced its support for wolf recovery in our homeland and our interest in a full partnership with the FWS in that effort.  Despite public support in Idaho for the recovery of wolves in at least some portions of the state, the Idaho State Legislature in the early 1990s forcefully opposed reintroduction efforts. As the effort gained momentum at the national level, however, the Idaho Legislature alternately granted and rescinded authority for Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) to work with the FWS.  Ultimately, a draft Wolf Recovery Plan developed by Idaho’s select Wolf Oversight Committee was rejected by the Legislature, one week after the first releases of wolves into Idaho had begun. 

In its 1994 Record of Decision authorizing the reintroduction effort, the FWS made clear that both states and tribes could lead on-the-ground efforts, in partnership with the FWS, if they were to develop suitable wolf management plans.  By declining to approve its own Wolf Recovery Plan, Idaho was not eligible to lead the recovery effort in the state.  Anticipating this, the Tribe developed, approved, and sent to the FWS our own Recovery and Management Plan, which came into effect September 30, 1995. 

The Tribe would go on to lead the on-the-ground recovery of wolves in Idaho for over a decade.  Our role, through agreement with the FWS, included population monitoring, problem wolf investigation and control, assistance with ESA enforcement, public outreach, and reporting.  Later, a 2005 Memorandum of Agreement between the Tribe and Idaho established a shared monitoring framework, narrowing the Tribe’s area of responsibility to the Clearwater and McCall regions of Idaho.  A steady stream of legal and political wrangling at the state and national levels ultimately resulted in a transition of management authority to Idaho beginning in 2006 and final delisting of Idaho’s wolves (through a Congressional budget rider sponsored by Reps. Mike Simpson and Jon Tester) in 2011.  The Tribe was supportive of delisting as early as late 2008, although not in the manner it was accomplished.  Our formal partnership with the FWS on wolf recovery ended in 2016, at the conclusion of the five-year post-delisting period. 

Ultimately, our efforts to restore the gray wolf to the Nez Perce homeland and his rightful place in Nez Perce culture have been a resounding success.  Today, many hundreds of wolves live within the Tribe’s homeland in Idaho, Washington, and Oregon.  As the management of wolves shifts to state agencies, the Tribe continues to track population trends and engage regional partners to ensure the continued health and prosperity of hîmiin in our homeland.

Annual reports associated with this project are linked below.  A vast number of popular and academic summaries, reports, and studies have been published detailing this effort as well.  A history of wolf recovery compiled by IDFG may be found at https://idfg.idaho.gov/wildlife/wolf/recovery-reintroduction.