There's a valid case on zoochat while wolves are not a great display species - they tend to be more secretive than people expect and spend a lot of time sleeping - but I also think they have one of the most important conservation stories in the western world and pop culture is still permeated with outdated ideas about them and even people who like wolves sometimes still pass around some of these myths. They also represent an important conservation message, again, in how much they have been eliminated from the western world and how much they are struggling to repopulate due to fears about livestock. This is an area where species and conservation education is valuable. I think Brookfield's Wolf Woods exhibit is really effective in that even if the animals are not visible (which can be often) there is a ton of educational signage and I think guests who don't see the animals can still walk away learning something or with a new appreciation for them. So in terms of education, I think wolves are a species that should absolutely be a priority.
I know this might sound like a 'stamp collector' mindset, but I think canids are a large and iconic enough group to be considered a missing spot in any collection in a US zoo - definitely one of my biggest surprises at Saint Louis was the lack of canids. The lack of gibbons, too, but that's less egregious.
The lack of North American/European themed areas is a good point, especially as the wolves at both Chicago zoos are held in North America exhibits, and Milwaukee's wolves were part of the southern part of their North America section that was converted for Africa. Saint Louis could perhaps use a touch of North America back, although I know this is unlikely to be the focus of any renovation in the near future.
