The Michigan Department of Natural Resources will begin a community-based survey in the northern Lower Peninsula in search of wolves. Today the Michigan DNR announced it seeks public assistance to conduct a community-based survey that will detect any potential presence of gray wolves. The survey will occur between February 17th and March 10th. MDNR Large Carnivore Specialist Brian Roell says the department’s efforts will concentrate on the northern Lower Peninsula which has some suitable habitat that could support a small wolf population. He adds that by enlisting the community’s assistance the DNR will have more eyes in the woods, increasing opportunities to track the state of wolves in the Lower Peninsula.
Wolves in Michigan have re-established stable populations in the Upper Peninsula over the past 14 years. The 2023-24 MDNR Wolf survey estimated the region was home to more than 760 wolves. According to the department, wolves have not established a population in the Lower Peninsula.
However, wolves have been harvested in the northern Lower Peninsula. In 2004 a wolf was killed by a hunter in Presque Isle County. Then in 2014, the DNR identified the presence of a wolf in Emmet County through genetic analysis. In January 2024, a coyote hunter in Calhoun County shot a wolf. No charges were filed in court against the hunter or guide. The Michigan DNR was not able to determine how the wolf arrived in Calhoun County.
In the Upper Peninsula, the DNR wolf survey counts animals based on observed evidence such as tracks or scat. The Lower Peninsula’s potential wolf habitat is more scattered than the habitat in the Upper Peninsula, making it difficult to complete a survey using the department’s traditional protocol.
Through help from the public, the Department of Natural Resources hopes to establish a baseline for the lower peninsula wolf population. A 2019 similar community-based survey in the northern Lower Peninsula found 97 reports of possible wolf activity. Though most reports were determined to be dog tracks or coyotes. The winter northern Lower Peninsula community-based wolf survey is conducted by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources in partnership with the USDA Wildlife services, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, and the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians. Find more information about the northern Lower Peninsula Community based wolf survey here.
