being explored. Over 30 facilities participate in the red wolf Species Survival Plan, and oversee the breeding and reintroduction of over 150 wolves. Gulf Coast In 1989, the second island propagation project was initiated with release of a population of red wolves on Horn Island off the Mississippi coast. This population was removed in 1998 because of a likelihood of encounters with humans. The third island propagation project introduced a population on St. Vincent Island, Florida, offshore between Cape San Blas and Apalachicola, Florida, in 1990, and in 1997, the fourth island propagation program introduced a population to Cape St. George Island, Florida, south of Apalachicola. New York An official analysis of wolves in New York by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation stated that, due to the adaptability of wolves to different habitats, there exists a significant amount of area (about of the Adirondacks) in the state suitable for wolves, and that the best course of action for the organization would be to reintroduce the species. Despite no confirmed breeding population, wolves are still listed as Endangered in the state, and are a protected species under Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) section 11-0535. However, an interview with DEC biologists in 2015 revealed that three extirpated carnivores (wolves, cougars, and Canada lynx) were removed from the state's proposed list of Species of Greatest Conservation Need in order to focus on extant species within the state, and that there were no plans by the DEC to reintroduce wolves, citing a lack of public and state support, funding, and personnel. They also highlighted that, even with all these factors, the type of wolves that would be brought in would be unknown, since records cite both the eastern wolf and red wolf as present in the state; the two canines have ongoing taxonomic discussions. DNA results of a canid killed near Cherry Valley in 2021 initially pointed to it being an eastern coyote, but a recent statement by the DEC confirms the animal was a wolf, with most of its ancestry matching wolves in Michigan; the DEC also has not confirmed or denied a breeding population within the state. Certain proponents of wolf recolonization state that wolves are already established in New York and New England, and have naturally dispersed from Canada by crossing the frozen St. Lawrence River. Europe Northern Europe In Sweden and Norway, a long and ongoing conflict is