Yellowstone’s wolf recovery program has brought stability to the park’s ecosystem/NPS, Jacob W. Frank

It was cold, right around 20 degrees below zero at Old Faithful, but that didn’t keep the excitement from bubbling up from the two women I met on the boardwalk near the famous geyser.

“Did you see the wolf? It loped right through the geyser basin!” they said, their words emphasized by the small clouds of condensation created by the temperature. It was if they were anxious to share the experience with others as if to verbally pinch themselves that it actually occurred.

Unfortunately, I had missed that sighting, but I’ve enjoyed other moments of wolf ecstasy in the park. There was the time in the Lamar Valley near Soda Butte Creek when two wolves, drawn by the squeals of an elk calf tackled by a grizzly, appeared on…