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Elizabeth Dunbar
St. Paul, Minn.

Park Service won't bite on aid to Isle Royale wolves

Gray wolf
In this photo released by Michigan Technological University, a gray wolf is shown in Isle Royale National Park in 2006.
John Vucetich/Michigan Technological University via AP

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The National Park Service has decided to take no immediate action to address Isle Royale's declining wolf population.

Some researchers asked the service to intervene to help wolves survive, saying the animals are a vital part of the Lake Superior island's ecosystem.

Officials, however, aren't ready to do that, Isle Royale Park Superintendent Phyllis Green said.

"We feel that there's time to be very thorough in our approach relative to the management decisions," Green said. "This is an island. Island biogeography is a developing science, and our understanding of how islands react to change is still really being studied in a lot of ways."

Officials won't act as long as Isle Royale has a breeding population of wolves, she added. The island's population peaked in 1980 with 50 animals but there are only nine now.

The park received some 900 comments on the issue last fall.

Green says more research is under way and that officials want to focus on developing an overall management plan for the park that includes wolves, moose and vegetation.