For more than 30 years, Mollie’s Pack has represented one of the greatest conservation success stories in North America.

This extraordinary family of wolves is the last remaining pack descended from Yellowstone’s original 1995 wolf reintroduction, one of the most celebrated wildlife restoration efforts in American history. Their story represents what is possible when humans choose restoration and coexistence over persecution.

Originally known as the Crystal Creek Pack, they were renamed in honor of Mollie Beattie, the first woman to serve as Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who played an important role in bringing wolves back to Yellowstone before her death from cancer in 1996.

For decades, Mollie’s Pack has been one of the most studied wolf families in the world. Their lineage has remained intact for generations, making them a living connection to one of the most important conservation achievements of our time. Scientists have described them as having the longest-known intact genetic lineage of any wolf pack in North America.

Now, this historic family is in grave danger.

Due to changing ecological conditions, including an unusually mild winter that left prey less vulnerable and more difficult to hunt, Mollie’s Pack moved farther outside the safety of Yellowstone National Park’s boundaries than ever before, into Wyoming’s Sunlight Basin area.

This region is less than an hour from where Hope, a yearling wolf, was subjected to a horrific act of cruelty in 2024 that shocked people around the world. The case exposed the very real dangers wolves face when they leave the protection of Yellowstone National Park and enter areas where hostility toward these animals remains deeply entrenched.

Mollie’s Pack is currently spending time in Wyoming’s Hunt Area 1, where the state has approved a 2026 wolf hunting season allowing up to four wolves to be killed beginning September 15.

Concerned advocates urged the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission to take action and temporarily close Hunt Area 1 for the 2026 wolf hunting season. Despite these requests and the extraordinary circumstances facing this historic pack, the Commission moved forward with approving the hunt.

That decision must be reconsidered.

Mollie’s Pack is not just any group of wolves. They represent decades of conservation history, scientific research, and the remarkable recovery of a species that was once nearly eliminated from the American West.

The loss of even one member of this family could have devastating consequences. Mollie’s Pack is currently raising five pups, and among the adults at risk is Wolf 1090F, the pack’s 12-year-old matriarch and one of the oldest known wolves in Yellowstone’s history.

This majestic grandmother wolf has spent more than a decade leading and raising her family. She deserves the chance to spend her remaining years surrounded by her pack and to die of old age, not be killed as part of a trophy hunt.

Wolves are not villains. They are intelligent, social animals who form deep family bonds, care for their young, and play an essential role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. Mollie’s Pack represents a family, a legacy, and one of America’s greatest conservation achievements.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission now has the opportunity to show that wildlife management can be thoughtful, science-based, and responsive to extraordinary circumstances.

Take Action Now

Please join Species Unite in urging the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission to close Hunt Area 1 for the 2026 wolf hunting season and give Mollie’s Pack the chance to survive. By protecting this remarkable family, Wyoming can help ensure that Mollie Beattie’s legacy of conservation and coexistence lives on.