GENESEE COUNTY THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION

Thursday, March 10, 2005 By David V. Graham dgraham@flintjournal.com o 810.766.6306

A two-week search for wolf tracks in northern Michigan did not find a single print, but Department of Natural Resources biologists say they are not really surprised.The survey was taken Feb. 21-March 4 to find tracks in about 2,000 square miles between Rogers City and the north end of Torch Lake, near Elk Rapids.

DNR biologist Brian Mastenbrook said he wasn't surprised by the lack of success. "With such a large area and a low density (of wolves), the chances were pretty slim," he said. Mastenbrook said that about 30 employees and volunteers from the DNR, local Indian tribes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's wildlife section and Central Michigan University's graduate wildlife program participated in the survey. The DNR believes there are at least 360 wolves in the Upper Peninsula and that at least three must have crossed the ice somewhere near the Mackinac Bridge during the winter. Mastenbrook said he is confident wolves remain in the surveyed part of northern Michigan. "There's no reason to think they went away," he said. "There are big chunks of private land in the area we surveyed, and they (the wolves) could be in there and we would never know it."

Brian Roell, the DNR's wolf coordinator, said he thinks it is possible the wolves could have retreated to the U.P. "They are free to roam, and they do," he said. However, deer densities in the Rogers City area are probably twice as high as deer densities in the Upper Peninsula, he said. Still, the U.P. has enough deer to keep wolves fed. "Wolves are not wiping out the deer herd in the U.P., in spite of what some people believe," Roell said. "Wolves are really just a small part of deer predation." He cited car-deer accidents and winter kills as much bigger factors in deer mortality than wolf kills. The typical wolf kills between 20 and 30 deer a year to survive. "Of course, there are some people who believe even one lost deer (to wolves) is too much," he said.

There are some deer hunters who believe that the DNR has been engaged in a conspiracy with the Farm Bureau and auto insurance companies to introduce wolves in the Lower Peninsula in hopes of reducing car-deer accidents and agricultural damage for farmers. Roell and other DNR biologists scoff at such theories. "Our wolves have come here from Wisconsin and Minnesota," Roell said. "We haven't introduced any wolves, or cougars for that matter. "We can't control them," he said, referring to wolves. "Director (Rebecca) Humphries has said that she has never discussed the wolf-deer situation with the Farm Bureau."

Todd Hogrefe, the DNR's endangered species coordinator, said much the same. "We care about biodiversity, but the DNR is absolutely not introducing wolves. They moved here by themselves, and there's very little we can do to manipulate them. They came here because of the prey base - the deer numbers we have here. "There's little we can do to encourage or discourage wolves here." Complicating the situation is a ruling last month by a federal judge in Portland, Ore., that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service erred in moving toward allowing state officials to manage wolf populations in several states in theGreat Lakes and Rocky Mountain regions. U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones ruled that federal officials erred in trying to reclassify wolves from "endangered" to "threatened" in those states. The federal government now is required to rescind rules that allow state officials, ranchers and farmers to kill wolves that are harassing or killing livestock.

State officials say Michigan's wolf population already has surpassed federal goals of having 200 wolves for at least five years. DNR officials were moving toward delisting the wolf here entirely, which possibly could open the door to an eventual limited wolf hunt in Michigan. Some control is necessary to keep a level of public support for wolves, state officials have said. Roell and other state officials predict there will be more illegal killing of wolves in Michigan because of the court ruling. Hogrefe said the DNR has applied for a federal permit under the Endangered Species Act to allow for selective killing and transportation of problem wolves, but he predicted it will be months before federal officials make a decision.

"We are seeking this permit to regain our ability to manage the wolf population in both an ecologically and socially responsible manner," DNR Director Rebecca Humphries said.

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