Isle Royale issues new rules to reduce visitor contact with wolves

ISLE ROYALE, MI – The National Park Service has announced new food storage guidelines for visitors and campers on Isle Royale to address the problem of the island’s wolves getting to human food and waste.

Those activities are taking place around the island’s Rock Harbor, where the visitor center is located, and at campgrounds on the east end of the island, park officials said Saturday. The new guidelines – designed to ensure the safety of people and wildlife – come about a month after rangers warned the public that wolf sightings were becoming more frequent in those areas.

Isle Royale is the northernmost point in Michigan. It lies in Lake Superior, about 60 miles off the northern shore of the Upper Peninsula. The eastern end of the island is home to the largest of Isle Royale’s four wolf packs, recent research has shown.

The new guidelines apply to campgrounds at Rock Harbor, Three Mile, Lane Cove, Daisy Farm, Moskey Basin, Duncan Bay, Duncan Narrows and Merritt Lane. And the rules include a reminder to all visitors to Isle Royale: feeding wildlife is not permitted.

Here are the new protocols issued by the Park Service for these areas:

Never leave packages unattended: Always keep your daypack (anything containing food or garbage) with you and/or assign a group member to keep a close eye on the backpacks in your absence.

Proper storage: The following additional procedures are now required for storing food, garbage, and other odorous materials at a campsite:

• Storage of food, garbage and other smelly materials in tents and unattended backpacks is not permitted.
• Shelters at campgrounds are an approved place to safely store all items. DO NOT leave items such as shoes, socks, food, garbage, and cooking utensils unattended outside of a shelter.
• For those not in shelters, large, locked lockers (kennels or bear-proof containers) are now available at Lane Cove, Rock Harbor, Three Mile, Daisy Farm and Moskey Basin campgrounds for storing food and waste at tent and group sites.
• Scented items should be stored in odor-proof bags or containers.
• As an alternative to smell-proof bags, visitors who have the appropriate equipment and knowledge are encouraged to hang their food at a height of over 10 feet.
• If storage space is not available, please work with other campers to store your belongings in the shelter they occupy or hang your food.

“Wolves are an integral part of the park’s ecosystem and it is critical that we manage their presence responsibly,” said Denice Swanke, manager of Isle Royale National Park. “Implementation will take place on July 13, 2024. Rangers will communicate these changes to visitors upon entering the park and during camping orientations.”

“These changes and any updated information will also be made available on our website and social media platforms. Our goal is to protect wildlife while ensuring a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone.”

In addition to these new visitor policies, Isle Royale Park staff are taking steps to minimize interactions between wolves and humans and to keep wolves away from trash on the island. These include:

• Increased harassment efforts: Park officials have increased their anti-wolf measures to prevent wolves from approaching populated areas.
• Electric fence: To surround garbage containers in the Rock Harbor area with electric fences to prevent wolves from getting to and eating the food scraps.
• Efficient waste management: Full trash containers will be promptly removed to minimize attraction. Single trash cans in Rock Harbor will be replaced with dumpsters and eventually bear-proof trash cans.
• Improved communication: Increased signage and messaging will be posted throughout the park to inform visitors of new policies and safety measures. Through communication, park staff can empower visitors to make changes that will ensure their safety and preserve the natural behavior of wildlife in the park.

Isle Royale is open to hikers and day visitors for several months each summer and fall. Currently, this archipelago is seeing an increase in visitor numbers for the summer season. And it has received national attention for the quality of the outdoor experience it offers. Isle Royale National Park was named the best national park in the United States earlier this month, ahead of Denali, Yellowstone and Big Bend and others.

The wolves and moose on Isle Royale are being monitored as part of the world’s oldest predator-prey study, conducted by researchers at Michigan Technological University. This year’s winter study estimated that there were 30 wolves on the island. They have organized themselves into about four territorial packs in different areas of Isle Royale, and some of them are young wolves. The East End pack includes nearly half of all the wolves on the island, researchers estimate. There are also an estimated 840 moose on the island.

The East End pack has carved out a territory that overlaps with the habitat of most of the island’s moose, keeping its food source close by.

Although Isle Royale is one of the least visited national parks in the United States due to its location nearly 60 miles from the mainland of the Upper Peninsula, it still sees a healthy influx of visitors and multi-day hikers each summer.

Park rangers continually update the online list of current conditions throughout the season, including how to handle unexpected encounters with the island’s wildlife, which includes wolves, moose, beavers, foxes and loons. Here is their advice for encounters with Isle Royale’s wolves:

Watch out for wolves:

• If you see a wolf, do not approach
• Encourage the wolf to go away by clapping loudly and
• If you can’t walk away safely, make yourself tall and aggressively use walking sticks or branches
• Wolf attacks are extremely rare and unlikely, but if it happens, fight it with all necessary means

Do you love the wolf and moose stories of Isle Royale? Read more here:

The last male wolf born on Isle Royale: The secrets his bones revealed

GPS data shows: Wolf, who left Isle Royale in Michigan, had an incredible two-year journey

Photos show a Michigan wolf breaking through the ice into Lake Superior and then clawing his way out

Photos show large Canadian wolves being caught in nets and released on Isle Royale in Michigan