Michigan DNR asks for public’s help for wolf survey in Northern Lower Peninsula
NORTHERN MICHIGAN — The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is asking the community for help in conducting a wolf survey for the Northern Lower Peninsula.
From Feb. 17 to March 10, the DNR will be accepting information on any sightings. People can submit additional photos or evidence to the DNR’s Eyes in the Field webpage.
Tim Riley, wildlife technician for the DNR Grayling office, said the DNR is asking for the public’s help in surveying to get as many eyes as possible out in the field.
“This is a way that kind of lets us cast a little bit broader of a net over the area than we’d be able to do on our own internally,” he said.
A group of six gray wolves is shown walking down a snow-covered road in the Upper Peninsula. The image was captured on a trail camera image in 2024 as part of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ wolf abundance study.
The last formal survey conducted in the Northern Lower Peninsula was in 2019. The idea to hold the survey was not triggered by any specific sightings or uptick in reports, Riley said.
He said they decided to hold the survey because wolves used to live on this land naturally, so it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the habitat and any potential sightings.
“They were here naturally on the landscape at one time,” Riley said. “If they’re here, it’s not necessarily a good or bad thing.”
He added that many people have trail cameras these days, and checking those for sightings would be a good way to get some evidence of a wolf in the region. Other things like fur, tracks or fecal matter can also be used to get a DNA confirmation of a wolf sighting.
During the last survey in 2019, there were 97 reports of possible activity in the area. Most of the reports were determined to be dogs or coyotes, or could not be verified.
However, credible reports were confirmed in Kalkaska and Montmorency counties.
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While wolves can have a normal habitat in the state, they were mostly gone by the early 20th century due to bounties, habitat loss and prejudice, according to a release from the DNR.
Wolves started to gradually return to the state and region in the 1990s thanks to the Endangered Species Act and a better understanding of their roles in a healthy ecosystem.
According to the DNR, the first observation of a gray wolf in the Northern Lower Peninsula was in 2004, when one was accidentally killed in Presque Isle County. In 2014, a gray wolf was confirmed to be found on the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians Reservation via DNA analysis, along with photos and tracks.
Last year, a wolf was killed in Calhoun County in southern Michigan by a hunter who thought it was a coyote.
More: Revisit our biggest story of the year: Calhoun County hunter harvests grey wolf by mistake
More: Gray wolf confirmed on Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians Reservation
According to a winter 2023-24 survey, there are an estimated 768 wolves in the Upper Peninsula.
The DNR is conducting the survey with the support of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 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.
— Contact reporter Karly Graham at kgraham@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @KarlyGrahamJrn.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Michigan DNR asks for public’s help for 2025 wolf survey in Northern Lower Peninsula
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