Early wolf research and conservation in the great lakes region

Abstract

The history of wolf research and conservation in the upper Great Lakes is only one chapter in the epic story of evolving relationships between people and land in North America. It is, however, an especially significant chapter. The rapid pace of Euro- American settlement and environmental transformation from the early 1800s to the mid-1900s led (among other impacts) to the near extirpation of the wolf from the region. During this same period, however, the American conservation movement arose in response to reckless resource exploitation. Shifts in conservation science, policy, and philosophy allowed the wolf to be understood within a broader ecological and ethical framework, preparing the way for the recent recovery of the species in the region. In this way, the fate of the wolf in the Great Lakes has reflected broader trends in the history of conservation. Since its historic low point in the mid-1900s, the wolf population of the Great Lakes region has recovered due to two overriding factors: ecological conditions of the landscape have been conducive to the population s growth and expansion; and the knowledge, values, and actions of the region s people have provided space on the ground and within our human society for such growth and expansion to occur. The natural and cultural history of wolves in North America and around the world has been well told in both popular and professional publications (e.g., Lopez 1978 ; Mech and Boitani 2003). Other chapters in this volume provide accounts of the history of wolves in the Great Lakes states. This chapter provides a brief overview of early wolf research and conservation efforts in the region.