Lissa Harris in The Watershed Post reports that a, "study published recently in Northeastern Naturalist, by Roland Kays and Robert Feranec of the New York State Museum in Albany, confirms that a wolf shot in Saratoga County in 2001 was in fact a wild wolf that migrated naturally into the area, not an escapee from a zoo or breeding facility." The Albany Times-Union has more:

The DEC issued a statement saying the study shows federal U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials need to reverse efforts to remove endangered species protections for wolves in the Northeast. Said Christopher Amato, assistant commissioner for natural resources, "We continue to believe that natural recovery of wolves in the Northeast is possible and urge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider its recent proposals and to update its wolf recovery plan to reflect this new scientific information and support the natural recolonization by wolves."

Harris also writes that the scientific community is debating whether the "gray wolf" (Canis lupus) and the "Eastern wolf" (Canis lycaon) are separate species. If the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says they are different species, Northeastern states might be removed from the gray wolf's historical range, and any gray wolves migrating into the area would not be protected. Read the entire story in The Watershed Post.