Two public meetings have been scheduled to discuss options for recovering the wolf population at Isle Royale National Park/John Vucitich, Michigan Tech

Two public meetings have been scheduled to discuss National Park Service options for dealing with the possibility that wolves at Isle Royale National Park will vanish without human intervention.

In a draft environmental impact statement released in December, the agency proposed to bring 20-30 wolves into Isle Royale in Michigan to offset a dwindling presence of wolves and at the same time counter a burgeoning moose population that biologists fear could overwhelm the island park's ecosystem. The park's plummeting wolf population is thought to be down to no more than two animals. The moose population, meanwhile, is thought to number around 1,300.

The Park Service's preferred alternative is to bring 20-30 wolves into the park during a three-year period to greatly diversify the gene pool of the predators. The goal of this alternative is to provide an immediate introduction of wolves that has the potential to be self-sustaining. Under alternative C, the National Park Service would immediately introduce 6-15 wolves with the potential for subsequent introductions over a 20-year period in order to maintain a wolf population in the park. Alternative D provides the National Park Service time to continue to monitor conditions. No immediate action would be taken but the alternative allows for future introductions of wolves. The decision to introduce in the future would be based on moose population metrics and other observed changes in the ecosystem.

The public open houses will be held on February 14 and 15 from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. A short presentation will start at 4:30 p.m. followed by a question and answer period and open house.

The open house meetings will be held at the following locations:

• Duluth, Minnesota – February 14 at Pier B Resort, 800 West Railroad Street
• Houghton, Michigan – February 15 at Magnuson Franklin Square Inn, 820 Shelden Avenue

To maximize opportunities to learn more about the draft plan/EIS, webinars are scheduled for Thursday, February 16, from 4 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time and Tuesday, February 21, from 7 p.m.- 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time. For more information about the open houses and to register for the webinars, visit this site and click on the “Meetings” link.

In addition to the open houses, the public is invited to submit written comments at this site. Comments may also be submitted through March 15, 2017, via regular mail or hand delivery at: Superintendent Phyllis Green, Isle Royale National Park, ISRO Wolves, 800 East Lakeshore Drive, Houghton, Michigan 49931-1896.