Draft Wolf Management Plan
The comment period to review this plan is 90 days and closes on November 14, 2007.
Requests for hard copies can be sent to: Michigan DNR Wildlife Division, P.O. Box 30444, Lansing, MI 48909.
Comments can be emailed to: wolf_comments@michigan.gov, or mailed to: Wolf Plan Comments, Attn: Endangered Species Coordinator, Michigan DNR Wildlife Division, P.O. Box 30444, Lansing, MI 48909.
To review the draft Wolf Management Plan, click here(1.9 MB)
Life History
Gray wolves (a.k.a. timber wolves and eastern timber wolves) are the largest member of the Canid family (wild dogs), which also includes coyotes, and red and gray foxes. The sub-species found in Michigan is Canis lupus lycaon. As adults, gray wolves average 30 inches in height at the shoulder and 65 pounds. Their feet are generally 3 1/2 inches wide and 4 1/2 inches long, and provide an easy way of differentiating wolves from coyotes, whose feet are only 1 1/2 inches wide and 2 1/2 inches long.
The diet of wolves in Michigan consists mainly deer, beaver, snowshoe hare, rodents and other small mammals, but may also include woodchuck, muskrat, coyote, raccoon, insects, nuts, berries and grasses. They are the only Canid species in Michigan that hunts in a social unit (the pack). While wolves can go for a week without eating, when they do eat, their meal may include 20 pounds of meat at a time.
Although wolves do not need "wilderness" (i.e. non-managed, roadless areas), they do need large areas of contiguous forest in which to range that support stable populations of their preferred prey. Wolf habitat is enhanced by timber cutting, wildlife habitat management and other practices that create more diverse and productive forests. Generally, a pack of gray wolves will roam an area of at least 100 square miles.
Wolves have a very strict dominance/sub-ordinate social structure that is constantly being maintained and reinforced. A typical pack consists of one alpha male, one alpha female, the young of the year, and a few others that may or may not be related to the alpha pair. New packs are often formed by lone wolves who have broken from a pack, but have been able to find a mate and new territory in which to hunt. In Michigan, the average pack size is expected to be around six members, but may be as small as two members. Pack size is dependent on prey availability.
Breeding (between the alpha male and female only) generally occurs in February, with six to ten (average seven) pups born in April in a den prepared by the alpha female. While the pups are still nursing, the alpha female remains with them and is fed by the rest of the pack. After the pups are weaned, the alpha female will again join the pack in hunting and all members of the pack aid in providing the pups with nourishment through regurgitation of meat. When the pups are old enough, they are moved out of the den and often to a nursery area, called a "rendezvous site", where they remain while the adult members of the pack go out to hunt. This area is often located in rank vegetation near water, such as a beaver flooding that has since become a wildgrass meadow. Although they are still tended by the adults, who bring them meat, this is where the young learn hunting skills by practicing with shrews, mice and other small animals.
Communication occurs between wolves in many ways, such as scent marking, but howling may be the most fascinating. Wolves are believed to howl in order to reconvene the family, announce a kill and for the simple joy of communication.
Michigan History
It is believed that wolves were once present in all 83 counties in the state of Michigan. A combination of European werewolf mythology, fairy tales, views that wolves were incompatible with civilization, and active predator control programs throughout the 20th century virtually eliminated the gray wolf from Michigan: by 1840, they could no longer be found in the southern portion of the Lower Peninsula; by around 1910 they had completely disappeared from the Lower Peninsula; and by 1960, when the state-paid bounty on wolves was repealed, they had nearly vanished from the Upper Peninsula. The last known pups born, before the 1990s resurgence of wolves in the state, were produced in what is now the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in 1954-56.
The species remained unprotected in Michigan until it was given full legal protection in 1965. The federal government listed the gray wolf as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1973.
An attempt to translocate four animals from Minnesota to northern Marquette County in 1974 failed, as all four animals were killed within several months.
However, by 1990, the majority of Michigan residents were ready for the gray wolf to return to their state. Survey results indicated that 64 percent of Upper Peninsula respondents and 57 percent of Lower Peninsula respondents supported wolf recovery.
Through the 1980s the only verified sightings of wolves, other than on Isle Royale, were of individual animals, but in 1989, the tracks of two wolves traveling together were verified. In the spring of 1991, this pair produced pups, the first to be documented on the mainland of Michigan in 35 years.
The current Michigan population is believed to be descendants of lone animals that immigrated to the Upper Peninsula from populations in Wisconsin, Minnesota or Ontario.
The comeback of the gray wolf in Michigan is a remarkable wildlife success story. Estimated at 20 animals in 1992, Michigan's gray wolf population has grown to 361 animals in 2004, and the 2004-2005 winter count is expected to be even higher. While state and federal endangered species laws have helped make this comeback a reality, the most important factor has been the willingness of Michigan's citizens to accept the gray wolf as part of our natural heritage. This continued public support for wolf recovery is critical as our wolf population continues to grow.
The state of Michigan has made a commitment to the ongoing protection and management of it's wolves. An annual "Michigan Wolf Awareness Week" for the month of October was initiated in 1992. In July of 1992, DNR Director Roland Harmes appointed a 10-member Michigan Gray Wolf Recovery Team, which he charged with the task of developing a wolf recovery plan for Michigan. The "Michigan Gray Wolf Recovery and Management Plan" was completed and signed by the Director on December 15, 1997.
Michigan Gray Wolf Population, 1989-2004
Click on image for larger version
Gray Wolf Recovery
It was not so long ago that Michigan did not have a sustainable wolf population. Years of predator control and bounties had all but eliminated wolves from Michigan. In 1973, it was estimated that no more than 6 animals lived in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. These individuals were maintained by immigration of wolves from Ontario and Minnesota, where their populations were more stable.
Beginning in 1975 wolves from Minnesota began migrating and establishing new packs and territories in northern Wisconsin. Wolves crossing the border into Michigan found new territory to occupy. The first confirmed whelping of pups in over 20 years occurred in 1991. Since then Michigan's population has grown from an estimated 17 wolves to at least 361 wolves (counted during the 2004 winter survey) in packs across the Upper Peninsula.
The biggest obstacle for the reestablishment of wolves in Michigan was overcoming public opinion. After a failed release of four wolves in the mid 1970's the Natural Heritage Program with funding from the Nongame Wildlife Fund began an education effort to teach Michigan's citizens the benefits and uniqueness of having wolves return as part of Michigan's northern forest ecosystem. Slide shows, educational fliers, and teaching kits were distributed throughout the state.
This effort has proved successful as citizens across the state and most importantly residents in the Upper Peninsula are recognizing the wolf as an important piece of the Upper Peninsula. The Nongame fund continues to support educational efforts, radio tracking, and winter surveys of wolves.
Michigan completed a "Gray Wolf Recovery Plan" to help guide decisions about wolf management in the state. The plan identifies three levels of recovery.
- The first level is a sustained population of 100 wolves between Michigan and Wisconsin for a period of 5 years. This level was identified in the Federal recovery plan. At this point the wolf would be removed from the Federal Endangered Species list.
- The Second level of recovery is identified as 200 animals in Michigan. This is the minimum population biologists recognize as a self sustaining population. At this level the plan states that gray wolf would be delisted from Michigan's Endangered Species list.
- The third population level has not been determined. It will be established based both on a biological and social (people) carrying capacity.
The "Gray Wolf Recovery and Management Plan" (251 KB) can be viewed on-line if you have Adobe Acrobat. We are not asking for comments on this plan. To review the new draft Wolf Management Plan, click here(1.9 MB)
Non-DNR Links
International Wolf Center
> "Was that a wolf?"
> "Living with Wolves: Tips for avoiding conflicts"
Canis lupus
(University of Michigan, Museum of Zoology)
Species Profile(U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)
Wolves in the Upper Great Lakes(Northern Michigan University, Seaborg Center)
Wildlife Species: Canis lupus
(USFS Fire Effects Information System)
Gray Wolf(The Wild Ones)
Wolf(Canadian Wildlife Service)
Timber Wolf(Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources)
Gray Wolf(National Wildlife Federation)
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