1) It's possible it could be a feral dog but I highly doubt it given the location and remoteness of the area.
2) It's true state governments deny the existence of certain animals.
3) I don't think it is pure wolf given what I've heard on recordings where their howls are very long and steady.
4) As I mentioned in my original post, I have not heard an audio recording of any wolf, coyote, or coywolf that had the force of exhalation that I heard that night. The howls were forceful beyond description. Wolves have a softer, longer drawn out howl. Coyote are more yips or high-pitched howls...almost squeaky. The coywolf (Eastern Coyote) was the closest but still too high in pitch, in my opinion.
Sounded like a dog to me. Little deep for a coyote and shorter howls than I would expect from a wolf. I’ve only heard wolves a couple of nights on the northern Idaho/Montana border six years ago so I’m certainly not an expert.
I have heard coyotes and moose make weird sounds at night with varying pitches. The cadence of this recording sounds just like a coyote, and not like a wolf to me. Could be a feral dog I suppose? I hadn't thought of that.
I found a fresh road kill coyote in northwestern Ohio once that was almost twice the size of our coyotes here in the Pacific NW, and also had very reddish fur along its back. I gave the hide away, so I don't still have it. I didn't get a chance to hear any of those NE coyotes with a little wolf DNA though.