LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Michigan State Rep. Greg Markkanen (R-Hancock) has advanced a resolution and introduced HB 4102 in an effort to re-establish a self-sustaining population of wolves in the Lower Peninsula and he urges the Michigan DNR (Department of Natural Resources) to help him accomplish that task.

Markkanen says, “Public support for wolves has historically been high among Michigan’s Lower Peninsula residents. I’ve heard it from Lower Peninsula residents themselves – they often express envy in the UP’s privilege to live side-by-side with wolves. I urge the DNR to re-establish a viable and self-sustaining wolf population in the Lower Peninsula by re-locating as many wolves as possible from the UP’s thriving population.”

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Although Markkanen says there is an abundance of support to relocate wolves in the Lower Peninsula, the support he cites from a survey concerning wolf recovery was from the mid-1990’s. Two other sources of support he cited were from 2013 and 2014.

Markkanen’s press release says that gray wolves in Michigan have been protected under the federal Endangered Species Act since 1974, leading to their remarkable comeback over the years. He says, “The wolf population is currently estimated at approximately 700 animals and has been re-established in the Upper Peninsula since 2007 – far surpassing the original goal of around 200 set by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Michigan Wolf Recovery and Management Plan.”

Markkanen continues to say that no such sustainable wolf population has been re-established in the Lower Peninsula. His House Concurrent Resolution 2 states, “Re-establishment of gray wolves in the Lower Peninsula could be achieved by translocating wolves from the recovered and established U.P. wolf population. Translocation has been used for decades as an effective method to re-establish rare and endangered species around the world.”

Markkanen says the Lower Peninsula contains thousands of acres of suitable wolf habitat, characterized by large areas of contiguous forest and stable populations of wolves’ preferred prey, such as deer, rodents, and other small animals. His resolution says, “Wolves play a key role in improving the ecological systems in which they reside. Wolves target weak, sick, or otherwise vulnerable prey, which can lead to healthier populations of prey. Additionally, introducing wolves into the Lower Peninsula’s predator base could possibly result in reducing the spread of fatal diseases that continue to spread across Lower Peninsula deer populations, such as chronic wasting disease and bovine tuberculosis.”

The resolution, along with HB 4102, is now with the House Committee on Natural Resources, Environment, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation.

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HB 4102 states that the first wolves would be introduced into the Lower Peninsula by June 1, 2025 and that the DNR would submit an annual report of compliance and the status of the wolf population in the Lower Peninsula.

Michigan News Source contacted the DNR to see what their position on this issue and Ed Golder, Public Information Officer with the Michigan DNR said, “The department hasn’t had a chance to analyze this legislation, which was just introduced, and does not have a position on it.”

However, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) does not feel that this is a good move. Molly Tamulevich, Michigan State director of the HSUS, says, “The Humane Society of the United States recognizes and champions the role that wildlife, particularly native carnivores, play in a healthy ecosystem. With regards to Rep. Markkanen’s resolution that is tie-barred with HB 4102, it is extremely important that wolves and other native carnivores are able to recover to their historic range. However, we see no need to remove wolves from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, as the population there has achieved stability over the past ten years and science has established that the indiscriminate removal of individual wolves can have cascading negative effects on their packs.”

Tamulevich goes on to say, “Instead, we recommend that the House Natural Resources Committee, along with the DNR and Michigan Department of Transportation, invest in policy that preserves and improves wildlife habitat in the Lower Peninsula. This could be achieved by championing wildlife-friendly infrastructure such as culverts and wildlife crossings over or under roadways, and restricting the cruelest forms of trophy hunting such as wildlife killing contests and the use of bait, hounding, and body-gripping and body-crushing traps and snares.

The fact is that, despite fearmongering by some legislators, people in the Upper Peninsula, including the Anishinaabek people who have been there all along, have lived alongside wolves for millennia. The Upper Peninsula has more than 1,000 working livestock farms, but in 2022 only three of those farms had verified conflicts with wolves. Science further finds that non-lethal deterrence methods are far superior in preventing conflicts. And each year, thousands upon thousands of tourists, campers, hikers, snowmobilers, and others visit the Upper Peninsula’s forests and wild lands—spending millions of dollars in the process – without ever reporting a negative encounter with a wolf. Indeed, many may have no idea that wolves are even there.”

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (part of the U.S. Dept. of Commerce) finds that outdoor recreation in Michigan generated more than $10 billion for the state’s economy in 2021. Of that figure, hunting and trapping generated just 2.1%, while people spent about 12 times that amount on travel and tourism. And the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Economic Analysis report that non-consumptive public land users outnumber and outspend hunters by a wide margin nationwide.”

Tamulevich concludes, “While we understand that Representative Markkanen’s resolution and bill were not introduced with the intention of sincerely aiding conservation efforts in our state, we do not disagree with the underlying premise: healthy populations of apex carnivores are something that Michigan, and all states, should aspire to cultivate as a sign of overall ecological health. But rather than a toothless and unscientific proposal, we would prefer to see legislation that aims to foster coexistence with wild animals across both of Michigan’s peninsulas for generations to come.”