Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem expands range

An aerial view of the work at the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem. ROBERT J. CUMMINGS PHOTO

By NEAL RENTZ

Changes to the landscape off Route 35 have been visible for weeks, and on Oct. 2 the Wolf Conservation Center held a groundbreaking ceremony for some major upgrades to its 43-acre South Salem property.

The center is located on a private nature preserve at 7 Buck Run. It is home to three gray wolves who serve as ambassadors for education programs, 12 endangered Mexican gray wolves and 17 critically endangered red wolves.

A new education facility will be a year-round space for lectures and interactive exhibits, with a multimedia classroom. It also will have a welcome center and gift shop.A new outdoor amphitheater will be a natural gathering space for presentations, lectures and programming.An enhanced Ambassador Wolf Enclosure will provide an integrated habitat designed to promote the health and well-being of the center’s ambassador wolves and create new opportunities for visitors to connect with the wolves, the center said.The new animal care building will be a climate-controlled facility with secure food storage and preparation areas to support the center’s whole-carcass diet and the daily care of the wolves.Other upgrades include ADA-accessible pathways, enhanced wolf habitats, rest areas for visitors, improved roads and parking. New camping dens will provide overnight accommodation for guests year-round. 

“For 27 years, the Wolf Conservation Center has worked tirelessly to dispel the misinformation about wolves for centuries, so that we can move from a place of fear and misunderstanding to knowledge, respect, and coexistence,” CEO Leila Howland Wetmore said. “Education is the most powerful tool we have to build a better future.”

The transformed campus is scheduled to open by January 2028.

Funding for the Den of Our Own capital campaign was made possible through a combination of private philanthropy and public investment, including grants from the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation’s Zoos, Botanical Gardens and Aquaria Capital Grant Program; Empire State Development’s Market New York program; the state Environmental Protection Fund; and the office of state Sen. Peter Harckham.For more information about the project, visit nywolf.org.