NPS and FWS officials took some precautions, such as fixing radio collars on the original wolves in 1996. But the wolves' survival was up to them. Indeed, when I visited the park in 1996, the NPS was beset by a range of issues that demanded attention, from a proposed gold mine on the northeastern border to nearly continuous public criticism of the park's fire control policies. The agency could devote only limited resources to monitoring and tracking the wolves. That was not that much of a problem because the animals took to their new surroundings as if they had always been there and knew exactly what to do.
