By Journal Staff

HOUGHTON — The National Park Service will relocate wolves from Ontario to Isle Royale National Park this winter.

Isle Royale and its partners successfully relocated four wolves from Minnesota to the park this fall in the first phase of an effort to restore predator-prey dynamics to the island ecosystem.

The support and assistance of Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and Ontario Premier Doug Ford made the next phase of the Isle Royale wolf translocation project possible.

“We greatly appreciate the efforts of Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder to facilitate this project and thank Premier Ford and Minister Jeff Yurek for their decision to provide Ontario wolves,” Isle Royale Superintendent Phyllis Green said in a news release. “We look forward to working with the professionals from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.”

Several wolves will be captured during the winter months and moved from Ontario to the isolated island park. The wolves from Ontario will play a critical role in restoring a robust wolf population at Isle Royale that functions as an apex predator.

“Ontario and Michigan have a long history of friendship and a proud tradition of working together to conserve our natural ecosystems,” Ford said. “We all have an important role to play in protecting the environment and we’re happy to do our part to help Michigan’s wildlife thrive.”

The winter effort is part of a three- to five-year plan to relocate 20 to 30 wolves to Isle Royale.

Researchers recommended this number of wolves to establish adequate genetic variability to help accomplish the overall goal of restoring predation as a key part of the ecosystem on the island. To evaluate project success, the NPS, along with its partners, plans to monitor ecological conditions and other factors, such as predation rates, genetics, moose-wolf ratios, and terrestrial and aquatic vegetation impacts.

Along with the state of Michigan and the province of Ontario, the NPS is collaborating with the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services, U.S. Geological Survey, University of Minnesota and personnel from multiple NPS units.