Why did CPW select watersheds as the geographic unit for displaying wolf activity data?

Wolves are more likely to be influenced by hydrological features than political borders

The selection of watersheds, rather than standard political boundaries like counties or state lines, as the unit for the Monthly Collared Gray Wolf Activity Map was a deliberate ecological decision made by CPW management. The reasoning is based on the understanding that the movements, resource utilization, and general behavior of the wolves are more intrinsically tied to natural hydrological features such as rivers and water sources. These features dictate habitat availability and movement corridors far more accurately than arbitrary human-drawn political divisions, leading to a more relevant representation of the wolves' true spatial ecology.