by Elizabeth Dunbar, Minnesota Public Radio
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Isle Royale National Park will hold two public meetings in Minnesota later this month to discuss how to manage the island’s wolf population.
Wolves there have been dying off in recent years. Wildlife biologists blame inbreeding, disease and starvation because of a drop in the moose population.
The extinction of the island’s wolves is not imminent, said Park Superintendent Phyllis Green.
“What we’d like to do with the wolf-moose discussion is just present some of the information that we’ve been putting together,” Green added. “We’ve gotten some information in the last years on climate change and the history and things that perhaps folks haven’t gotten a chance to think about or review.”
The meetings will take place in St. Paul on Nov. 19 and in Duluth on Nov. 20th. Park officials plan to present new information about climate change and other factors. A site for the St. Paul meeting hasn’t been set. The Duluth meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Environmental Protection Agency Mid-Continent Ecology Division Laboratory, 6201 Congdon Blvd.
Questions can be emailed to Paul Brown, the park’s natural resources chief.