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Now that the gray wolf population has returned to robust health in the United States, they have been removed from the endangered species list. In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the wolf count has ballooned from 140 in 1998 to over 600 every year for the past decade. It is still a fragile population though, so the state is reforming its Wolf Management Advisory Council. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is currently taking applications to be a part of that body.
Completed forms will be accepted until February 4th. They are available by emailing DNR-Wildlife@Michigan.gov or by phone at 517-284-9453.
Additionally, delisting kicks in two Michigan statutes first passed in 2008, Public Acts 290 and 318. They allow for the killing of wolves in defensive situations if livestock or pets are being wounded or killed. Gray wolves remain protected across the state, so lethal force should be an absolute last resort used in very narrow circumstances.
