Following speculation and debate, the National Parks Service opted for an aggressive repopulation of Isle Royale’s decimated wolf population.
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The National Parks Service today announced a plan to relocate up to 30 gray wolves over three years into Isle Royale National Park. The move follows a 2016 debate over how best to address a wolf population that once numbered in the dozens, now believed to have plummeted to just two.
Conservationists and the NPS warn that without a healthy wolf population, flourishing moose are upsetting an ecological balance by over-foraging. The decision will be final after a 30-day public comment period. It favors the most aggressive response to the wolves’ plight.
The NPS also considered a more gradual repopulation of fewer wolves over a longer period of time, or a no-action alternative to let nature take its course. Opponents of the reintroduction warn human intervention upsets a natural process and will only necessitate future intervention.
Isle Royale Wolf Repopulation
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