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Survery points to increase in wolf population in Upper Peninsula

"Wolves 654" by Drumsara is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/

A new survey finds the number of wolves in the Upper Peninsula has risen slightly in the past two years.

Cody Norton is a large carnivore specialist with the Department of Natural Resources.

He says the survey conducted between December and March estimates there are at least 695 wolves.

“Basically this number has been consistent," said Norton. "We’ve been kind of between 600 and 700 wolves in the UP for the last nine years.  It shows us that the population is healthy and stable.”

Wolves have endangered status under federal law despite past efforts to remove them from the endangered list. 

Steve Carmody has been a reporter for Michigan Radio since 2005. Steve previously worked at public radio and television stations in Florida, Oklahoma and Kentucky, and also has extensive experience in commercial broadcasting. During his two and a half decades in broadcasting, Steve has won numerous awards, including accolades from the Associated Press and Radio and Television News Directors Association. Away from the broadcast booth, Steve is an avid reader and movie fanatic.