Reports of observations can also be submitted online atwww.dnr.state.mi.us/wildlife/pubs/wolf_obsreport.asp. Related: The debate is on: Will wolves move to Michigan’s Lower Peninsula? Wolves in the Lower Peninsula, not even that far from where I was hiking. But the Little Traverse Bay Bands tribe has worked with Central Michigan University on … When Silas Rose Sr. settled in Clinton County in 1836, “few trails had been made and there were long distances between the clearings where a small field of grain would give proof of the enterprise of some hardy pioneer settler,” according to family history. The gray wolf has been on and off the agency’s list of endangered species in Michigan. Within a few years after their protection under the Endangered Species Act, wolves began immigrating from Wisconsin, and in 1991 a wolf pack was confirmed to be reproducing in Michigan. Most turned out to be coyote or dog tracks or were otherwise unverifiable, said DNR wildlife biologist Jennifer Kleitch. Population – According to the Michigan DNR there are approximately 600-700 wolves in the Upper Peninsula. The Michigan Natural Resources Commission has approved a wolf hunting season starting in fall of 2013 for parts of the Upper Peninsula. Wolves began naturally returning to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula via Canada and Wisconsin in the early 1990s. Their study calls wolves “highly mobile habitat generalists” and maps several potential routes for them to cross from the U.P into the Lower Peninsula, including ones that end in Wilderness State Park in Emmet County and Cheboygan State Park in Cheboygan County. Michigan Department of Natural Resource Wildlife Division surveys reveal wolves are present in all the counties in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Wolves were removed primarily through poisoning between 1838 and 1960. Most recently in 2014, a federal judge ordered it returned to the list, although the Trump administration has proposed delisting it in most of the U.S. Since that time populations have increased and continue to expand their range. Home › Wolves in the News North Central Wolves in the News › MI: Are there wolves in the Lower Peninsula? The Endangered Species Coalition, an environmental group opposed to delisting, says, “Wolves need these protections to recover in areas where they have yet to appear or are just getting a foothold. Learn About Wolves in Michigan's Northern Lower Peninsula. To kill wolves for sport is just not right.” Nevertheless, the Michigan Natural Resources Commission on Thursday again approved hunting of once-federally protected wolves in the Upper Peninsula under a new state law passed to circumvent a referendum on an earlier hunting law, as called for by an earlier petition drive run by wolf supporters. For many years there have been lone wolves reported on the Lower Peninsula but this is the first confirmation of more than one. Gehring is the co-author of a new study saying that as the Upper Peninsula reaches its carrying capacity for wolves, chances grow that some will migrate south across the frozen Straits of Mackinac. By KATE BASSETT on December 29, 2010 Tagged Outdoors. Michigan DNR wolf surveys indicate there is a minimum wolf population of 662 adult wolves. Gray wolves have been found only rarely in the past 15 years in the Lower Peninsula north of highway M-55, which runs east-west between Manistee on Lake Michigan and Tawas City on Lake Huron, according to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). RELATED: The history of wolves in Michigan. More recently, the GRAND RAPIDS, MI — If you’re headed up north for a weekend of skiing, hiking or fishing, take special note of any furry creatures you see loping along in packs. Wolves occasionally are spotted in the northern Lower Peninsula but no established population is known to exist there. A department survey earlier this year reported 97 possible wolves reported by the public in the northern Lower Peninsula. Fish & Wildlife Service calls the gray wolf  “a keystone predator” and “an integral component of the ecosystems to which it typically belongs. All potential routes identified in the study are shorter than ice bridges wolves have crossed between Isle Royale in Lake Superior and the nearest points on the mainland in Minnesota and Ontario. The recovery in areas where they do currently exist was only possible because of the protections provided by the Endangered Species Act,” the coalition says. Evidence of range expansion into the Lower Peninsula came when a gray wolf was accidentally killed in Presque Isle County in 2004. Wolves began naturally returning to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula via Canada … – Not at the time of … Since that time populations have increased and continue to expand their range. Wolves occasionally are spotted in the northern Lower Peninsula but no established population is known to exist there. The U.S. That suggests that the probability wolves will establish themselves and stay there is “not as great” as in the U.P., Beyer said. Click here to read an article on coywolves from the Detroit Free Press. In 1992, a Michigan wolf recovery team was formed. Gray wolves have been found only rarely in the past 15 years in the Lower Peninsula north of highway M-55, which runs east-west between Manistee on Lake Michigan and Tawas City on Lake Huron, according to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). This is only the second confirmed gray wolf sighting in the lower peninsula since 1910. MI: Are there wolves in the Lower Peninsula? To date there have been only eight confirmed cases of depredation on livestock and two cases of depredation on domestic dogs. Survey teams will respond to areas where there have been one or more observations. The wild has returned to the Lower Peninsula. Gray wolves have been found only rarely in the past 15 years in the Lower Peninsula north of highway M-55, which runs east-west between Manistee on … … was accidentally trapped and killed in 2004 in Presque Ile County, and a trail camera detected a wolf on the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians reservation in Emmet County in 2015. Related: Wolves face genetic challenge in Michigan’s Isle Royale, study says. No wolf sped past Brad Johnson to attack a … That’s what students with autism cope with every day. Roadtreking journalist heads to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to investigate. Breeding populations of wolves have established in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan but have not yet become widely established in the Lower Peninsula (LP) of Michigan, despite several sightings of wolves in the LP since 2004. They’d probably come from the U.P.’s 895,000-acre Hiawatha National Forest. However, a radio-collared wolf from the U.P. NORTHERN MICHIGAN — The Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ citizen-based northern Lower Peninsula wolf survey, to detect the presence of … In contrast to the Upper Peninsula, the Lower Peninsula has relatively limited blocks of “wild land where wolves could roam, although there are abundant food resources. Your email address will not be published. Wolves began naturally returning to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula via Canada and Wisconsin in the early 1990s. (https://greatlakesecho.org/2019/04/10/the-debate-is-on-will-wolves-move-to-the-lower-peninsula/), Gray Wolf Image: Fish and Wildlife Service. The DNR says that “regardless of changes in the wolves’ legal status,” they “have surpassed state and federal population recovery goals for 15 years. Since that time populations have increased and continue to expand their range. It includes a photo of a wolf pup which the DNR trapped and outfitted with a radio transmitter. However, DNR wildlife research specialist Dean Beyer said the amount of suitable habitat in the northern Lower Peninsula may be insufficient and too patchy to support wolf populations. 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