A series of public meetings will be hosted by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to discuss wolf management in the state, with one set for Sault Ste. Marie Friday, May 13. Public input received at these meetings will help guide revision of the state’s wolf management plan.

Wolves began returning naturally to the Upper Peninsula from Wisconsin and Canada in the late 1980s and, today, the population is estimated to be at least 400. Wolf populations in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota have exceeded federal recovery goals for several years, but the animal remains on the endangered species list, largely owing to management issues elsewhere in the country.

DNR Director Rebecca Humphries is establishing a joint citizen/agency committee to develop guiding principles for management of wolves in Michigan. Once assembled, the group will begin work next winter, and the issues identified and the attitudes expressed at the public meetings will be considered by this joint committee when developing its recommendations.

The May 13 meeting at Sault Ste. Marie will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Crow’s Nest in the Cisler Conference Center at Lake Superior State University.

Comments can also be made by e-mail to wolf_comments@michigan.gov or by mail to DNR Wildlife Division, Attn: Endangered Species Coordinator, P.O. Box 30444, Lansing, MI. 48909. The DNR will not provide return responses to submitted comments.

Other meeting information can be located on the DNR Web site at www.michigan.gov/dnr.