Wolves!

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures: 

A 1,000-Mile Walk on the Beach  [A Heartland Indie Bestseller]

A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Walk   [Winner of the Great Lakes Great Reads Award] 

A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure  [Long-listed for the Chautauqua Prize]

 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

The National Park Service has completed the final administrative hurdle to authorize the transport of wolves to Isle Royale.

Press Release HERE.

This is good news for this wilderness island with its exploding moose population. Currently there are an estimated 1,500 moose "...with the potential to double in the next 4-5 years without wolf predation" 
(Ecological Studies of Wolves on Isle Royale Annual Report 2017 - 2018 
by Rolf O. Peterson, John A. Vucetich, and Sarah R. Hoy).

The two wolves currently on the island are  7 and 9 years old. They are a male and female, closely related, and not likely to breed successfully. 

New wolves will bring significant changes to the island which will be observed by scientists and volunteers hiking Moosewatch Expeditions.

A huge fallen tree on the island (& Me)

Balsam fir browsed by moose during the winter

Bull moose skull gathered by Moosewatch team 2018

I will lead an all-women team of hikers in 2019 on a Moosewatch Expedition.

If you'd like more information about hiking a Moosewatch Expedition next year, please email me at: 

LakeTrek@gmail.com

National Park Centennial

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures: 

A 1,000-Mile Walk on the Beach  [A Heartland Indie Bestseller]

A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Walk   [Winner of the Great Lakes Great Reads Award] 

A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure  [Long-listed for the Chautauqua Prize]

 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

On August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the law establishing a new federal bureau, the National Parks Service (NPS). At that time there were 35 national parks and monuments. Today there are 59. The NPS is responsible for protecting and managing these national treasures.

Michigan is home to 5 of these parks.

Two are national lakeshores:

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Lake Superior

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on Lake Michigan

One is a historic district on the Keweenaw Peninsula:

Map of National Historical Park on the Keweenaw

One is a battlefield near Monroe:

The site of a pivotal battle during the War of 1812

And the final one is Isle Royale, the second-largest island in the Great Lakes.

A shed moose antler on Isle Royale

This week marks the centennial of the NPS.

Happy 100th!

Enjoy and explore our National parks. 
Learn more HERE and HERE.

The Question of the Wolves

Clock tower in Chelsea, MI

 The National Park Service is holding public meetings around the Great Lakes to get input about what -- if anything -- should be done to save the population of wolves on Isle Royale.

I attended one of these meetings in Chelsea, Michigan. 

The ranger talks about Isle Royale

There is one pack of wolves currently on Isle Royale with 11 adults. 
This year they had at least 2 pups.

 The pack has lost genetic diversity over time, and there is a genetic skeletal deformation that has become prevalent in the wolves there. 

 These are three alternatives the NPS is considering:

1. No action

2. Bring a new pack to the island once current pack dies out

3. Bringing a few individual wolves to the island to increase genetic diversity and health of pack 

The Lansing State Journal did an amazing special report with gorgeous photos on this topic. It can be found HERE.

I have applied to assist with the moose-wolf study in May of 2014 as part of my current adventure exploring many of the islands of the Great Lakes. Isle Royale is a special place in the lakes, a jewel of a park and home to the longest predator-prey study ever done. Data for The Moose-Wolf Project has now been collected for over 50 years.

Input from the public is welcome. E-mail your comments to:  ISRO_wildlife@NPS.org