Wolf populations in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming were removed from the endangered species list by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in 2008 followed by various legal challenges to quash the motion. It took an act of Congress to uphold the removal in 2011. As of April 26, 2017 gray wolves are delisted in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. Gray wolves began migrating from Idaho into Oregon starting in 2009, as of the end of 2022 there are 178 known wolves in Oregon.
The Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973, and one year later, the gray wolf is listed as endangered; and thus recovery was mandated under said Act. The gray wolf was present in Yellowstone when the park was established in 1872 and the last wolf pack in Yellowstone was killed in 1926, although reports of single wolves continued. In June 1994, after several years and a near-record number of public comments, the Secretary of the Interior approved reintroduction of gray wolves to Yellowstone and central Idaho. On January 12, 1995, Canadian wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park, which is the world's oldest national park, after decades of likely absence, followed by subsequent reintroduction of a handful of wolves at set intervals within a year after the fact. The reason for said introduction was to restore balance to the ecosystem and improve biodiversity, namely to thin out herds of elk and bison which grazed on other endangered species like willow and aspen, induced erosion by trampling on vegetation that held the soil in place, and were more likely to succumb to infectious diseases when faced with starvation.
Lloyd's age is revealed as they celebrate his 58th birthday, though Ryan believed him to be 70. Forrie J. Smith is actually 63 years old.