The National Park Service (NPS) is currently making plans to release up to six wild wolves at Isle Royale National Park this fall.
The project represents the first step in implementing the Record of Decision for the plan addressing the presence of wolves, which was signed by NPS Midwest Regional Director Cam Sholly in June 2018.
With only two older, somewhat frail wolves left on the island, and the moose population estimated at 1,350 and growing 10-20 percent each year, the NPS proposed a project to introduce 20 to 30 wolves at Isle Royale National Park, and this is the first step in that process.
Since 2015 the National Park Service has worked with the public and governmental agencies as well as environmental groups on forming a plan that would best serve Isle Royale.
During the decision-making process the NPS looked at a variety of alternatives for the management of moose, wolves and vegetation at Isle Royale. The moose-wolf-vegetation food web is tightly connected.
Steps included public meetings, public comment periods and preparing a Moose-Wolf-Vegetation Management Plan and an Environmental Impact Statement for Isle Royale National Park. That plan will be used for the next 20 years to provide direction for the management of the island’s moose and wolf population.
On September 21, the NPS will hold a press conference to announce the start of the wolf translocation project and provide details. Phyllis Green, superintendent, Isle Royale National Park and Mark Romanski, chief of natural resources, Isle Royale National Park, will be two of the presenters.
Other speakers will include Liz Valencia, chief of interpretation and cultural resources, Isle Royale National Park; Michelle Verant, wildlife veterinarian, NPS Biological Services Division; Alexandra Picavet, chief of communications, NPS Midwest Region; John Pepin, deputy public information officer, MI Department of Natural Resources; and Seth Moore, director, Environment and Biology, Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
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