Preface
While we were growing up in Wisconsin during the 1950s and 1960s, gray wolves (we always called them timber wolves, Canis lupus) were making their last stand in northern Wisconsin. Wolves were considered a wilderness-dependant relic of Wisconsin’s frontier past that no longer belonged in our state. We did not expect wolves to ever again return to the state, at least not in any sizeable numbers. Among us, Dick Thiel was the most tenacious about trying to find evidence of wolves in Wisconsin, even as a student in the 1960s and 1970s. When wolves began returning during the mid-1970s, we dared not hope for any more than a token population of wolves to reestablish. The recovery of wolves in Wisconsin has succeeded beyond our wildest dreams. We have had the pleasure to document and track the amazing return of this powerful predator to our state.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Fuller, T. K. 1989. Population dynamics of wolves in north central Minnesota. Wildlife Monographs 105:1–41
Fuller, T. K., Berg, W. E., Radde, G. L., Lenarz, M. S., and Joselyn, G. B. 1992. A history and current estimate of wolf distribution and numbers in Minnesota. Wildlife Society Bulletin 20:42–55.
Fuller, T. K., York, E. C., Powell, S. M., Decker, T. A., and DeGraff, R. M. 2002. An evaluation of territory mapping to estimate fisher density. Canadian Journal of Zoology 79:1691–1696.
Fuller, T. K., Mech, L. D., and Cochrane, J. F. 2003. Wolf population dynamics. In Wolves: Behavior, Ecology and Conservation, eds. L. D. Mech and L. Boitani, pp. 161–191. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Halfpenny, J. 1986. A Field Guide to Mammal Tracking in North America. Boulder: Johnson Publishing.
Harrington, F. H. and Mech, L. D. 1982. An analysis of howling response parameters useful for wolf pack censusing. Journal of Wildlife Management 46:686–693.
Harrington, F. H. and Asa, C. S. 2003. Wolf communication. In Wolves: Behavior, Ecology and Conservation, eds. L. D. Mech and L. Boitani, pp. 66–103. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Heilhecker, E. In Press. Wolf, Canis lupus, behavior in areas of frequent human activity. Canadian Field-Naturalist.
Jackson, H. T. 1961. Mammals of Wisconsin. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
Kreeger, T. J. 2003. The internal wolf: Physiology, pathology, and pharmacology. In Wolves: Behavior, Ecology and Conservation, eds. L. D. Mech and L. Boitani, pp. 192–217. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Kuehn, D. W., Fuller, T. K., Mech, L. D., Paul, W. J., Fritts, S. H., and Berg, W. E. 1986. Trap related injuries in gray wolves in Minnesota. Journal of Wildlife Management 50:90–91.
Mech, L. D. 1970. The Wolf: The Ecology and Behavior of an Endangered Species. Garden City: Natural History Press.
Mech, L. D., and Nowak, R. M. 1981. Return of the gray wolf to Wisconsin. American Midland Naturalist 105:408–409.
Mladenoff, D. J., Sickley, T. A., Haight, R. G., and Wydeven, A. P. 1995. A regional landscape analysis and prediction of favorable gray wolf habitat in the northern Great Lakes region. Conservation Biology 9:279–294.
Mladenoff, D. J., Haight, R. G., Sickley, T. A., and Wydeven, A. P. 1997. Causes and implications of species restoration in altered ecosystems. BioScience 47:21–31.
Mladenoff, D. J., Sickley, T. A., and Wydeven, A. P. 1999. Predicting gray wolf landscape recolonization: Logistic and regression models vs. new field data. Ecological Applications 9:37–44.
Mohr, C. O. 1947. Table of equivalent animal populations of North American small mammals. American Midland Naturalist 37:233–249.
Olson, J. F., and Tischaefer, R. 2004. Cable restraints in Wisconsin: A guide for responsible use. Madison: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, PUBL-WM-443.
Peters, R. P., and Mech, L. D. 1975. Scent-marking in wolves: A field Study. American Scientist 63:628–637.
Pollock, K. H., Winterstein, S. R., Bunck, C. M., and Curtis, P. D. 1989. Survival analysis in telemetry studies: The staggered entry design. Journal of Wildlife Management 53:7–15.
Radeloff, V. C., Hammer, R. B., and Stewart, S. I. 2005. Sprawl and forest fragmentation in the U. S. Midwest from 1940 to 2000. Conservation Biology 19:793–805.
Rothman, R. J., and Mech, L. D. 1979. Scent marking in lone wolves and newly formed pairs. Animal Behavior 17:750–760.
Thiel, R. P. 1978. The status of the timber wolf in Wisconsin in 1975. Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Science, Arts and Letters 66:186–194.
Thiel, R. P., and Welch, R. J. 1981. Evidence of recent breeding activity in Wisconsin wolves. American Midland Naturalist 106:401–402.
Thiel, R. P. 1993. The Timber Wolf in Wisconsin: The Death and Life of a Majestic Predator. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
Treves, A., Naughton-Treves, L., Harper, E. L., Mladenoff, D. J., Rose, R. A., Sickley, T. A., and Wydeven, A. P. 2004. Predicting human-carnivore conflict: A spatial model based on 25 years of wolf depredation on livestock. Conservation Biology 18:114–125.
United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 1992. Recovery Plan for the Eastern Timber Wolf. Twin Cities: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. 1989. Wisconsin Timber Wolf Recovery Plan. Madison: Wisconsin Endangered Resources Report 50. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. 1999. Wisconsin Wolf Management Plan. Madison: PUBL-ER-099 99, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. 2003. State of Wisconsin 2003–2004 Blue Book. Joint Committee on Legislative Organization, Wisconsin Legislature, Madison, Wisconsin.
Wydeven, A. P. 1993. Wolves in Wisconsin: Recolonization underway. International Wolf 3(1):18–19.
Wydeven, A. P., Schultz, R. N., and Thiel, R. P. 1995. Monitoring of a recovering gray wolf population in Wisconsin, 1979–1991. In Ecology and Conservation of Wolves in a Changing World, eds. L. N. Carbyn, S. H. Fritts, and D. R. Seip, pp. 147–156. Edmonton: Canadian Circumpolar Institute.
Wydeven, A. P., Schultz, R. N., and Megown, R. A. 1996. Guidelines for carnivore track surveys during winter in Wisconsin. Madison: Wisconsin Endangered Resources Report 112. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Wydeven, A. P., Jurewicz, R. L., Van Deelen, T. R., Erb, J., Hammill, J. H., Beyer, D. E., Roell, B., Wiedenhoeft, J. E., Weitz, D. A. Gray wolf conservation in the western Great Lakes region of the United States. M. Musiani, L. Boitani, and P. C. Paquet. In World of Wolves: New Perspectives on Ecology, Behavior and Policy, eds. University of Calgary Press. Calgary: in press.
Acknowledgments
We thank Sarah Boles, Larry Prenn, Pam Troxell, Bob Welch, Jim Halfpenny, WDNR pilots, WDNR wildlife biologists and technicians, volunteer trackers, tribal biologists, USGS Wildlife Health Center, WDNR Wildlife Health Team, and Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission. Funding was provided through Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration (PR Funds), USFWS Endangered Species grants, Wisconsin Endangered Resources funds, US Forest Service, Timber Wolf Alliance, Timber Wolf Information Network, Defenders of Wildlife, National Wildlife Federation, and private donations.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Wydeven, A.P. et al. (2009). History, Population Growth, and Management of Wolves in Wisconsin. In: Wydeven, A.P., Van Deelen, T.R., Heske, E.J. (eds) Recovery of Gray Wolves in the Great Lakes Region of the United States. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-85952-1_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-85952-1_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-85951-4
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-85952-1
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)