GW: Still way too high, since the agreed upon level has been a total of 200 wolves in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota combined!
The survey estimates 762 wolves in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, showing a consistent population for the past 14 years
The 2024 winter wolf population survey estimate from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources found a minimum of 762 wolves in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. This year’s estimate showed an increase of 131 animals compared to the 2022 estimate of 631; however, the results demonstrate a continued trend of statistical stability in Michigan’s wolf population.
“This year’s survey findings are statistically consistent with our wolf population surveys for the past 14 years,” said Brian Roell, the DNR’s large carnivore specialist. “When a wild population reaches this stable point, it is typical to see slight variations from year to year, indicating that gray wolves may have reached their biological carrying capacity in the Upper Peninsula.”
In other words, Michigan’s U.P. wolf population has achieved an equilibrium between availability of habitat and the number of wolves that habitat can support over time.
The survey, completed last winter, found the population distributed among 158 packs in the Upper Peninsula, with an average of 4.8 wolves per pack. This year’s survey represents the highest population estimate since 2012, when the department began doing the semi-annual survey. The survey is conducted during the winter because it relies in part on identifying wolf tracks in the snow.
Prior to the winter of 2007, the DNR sought to count wolves throughout the entire Upper Peninsula. However, as the wolf population increased, this peninsulawide survey method became more difficult and time-consuming, especially the process of distinguishing among adjacent packs.
As a result, the department developed and evaluated a different sampling method to reduce the search area and allow additional time to accurately count wolves in neighboring territories. The new approach uses a geographic stratification – essentially breaking up regions into small pieces and ensuring those regions have representative samples – and produces an unbiased, precise minimum estimate of wolf abundance in Michigan’s U.P. during midwinter when wolves are at their lowest point in their yearly population cycle.
The DNR is currently evaluating two other techniques for estimating wolf abundance in the U.P. One relies on a track survey similar to the department’s current method. The other uses trail cameras spread across the U.P.
If successful, these additional techniques may have advantages over the current methodology, mainly by decreasing staff time. The camera model would have the added benefit of producing estimates at times of the year other than winter.
This March 2024 Showcasing the DNR story shares more about the survey pilot programs. Read more
