October 24, 2023
Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2023 Wolf Awareness Week!
We hope you enjoyed learning about wolves as well as the different perspectives we shared and explored each day.
It was a very successful week:
- We doubled our participation from last year!
- We made our voices heard with the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board with 85 people sending in their written comments using our talking points to support and improve the proposed Wolf Plan & Rule package.
In case you missed the week or want to rewatch some of the programs or participate in the activities, here’s the run down:
- “Sign-up Sunday” - check out our Facebook and Instagram posts to learn more about wolves featuring photos from wildlife photographer, Deby Dixon, with educational wolf pack facts!
- “Ma'iingan Monday” - Check out videos interviews with Tribal Leaders about their relationship with wolves:
- Michael Waasegiizhig Price, the Traditional Ecological Knowledge Specialist at the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission
- Elder Marvin Defoe of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians
- Joe Miller, Council Member for the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians
- “Take Action Tuesday” - "State of the Pack" there was an update from our Wildlife Team on Facebook with an urgent call to action to support responsible wolf stewardship by contacting the Natural Resource Board. [Edited to add: check out what happened at that meeting here]
- “Wolf Country” Wednesday - Conflict Mitigation & Farmer Perspective- A presentation about the non-lethal predator prevention techniques being used in the field today. We heard from both Brad Koele, Wildlife Damage Specialist, from WDNR and Mary Falk from Love Tree Farm who utilizes guardian dogs to protect her sheep
- “Throwback Thursday: “Celebrating 50 years of the ESA with a focus on the gray wolf”
- Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act by looking at its impact on the gray wolf with National Wildlife leaders from the Sierra Club, Bonnie Rice and Bradley Williams. Watch the recording here.
- “Fun with Wolves” Friday - A day filled with different activities including:
- Test your folding skills with this Origami wolf, and be sure to share it on social media and tag us for a reshare!
- Like our wolf advocate sticker? We’ve made it into a coloring page! Let your creativity run wild, and share your masterpiece with us! SCWI Wolf Advocate Coloring Page
- And for those with elementary school age children or educators in your life, please share and enjoy the “Wolf Awareness” with them!
- “Stream it” Saturday - Beavers & Wolves - Both keystone species, wolves and beavers depend on each other and are critical to a healthy ecosystem. We will share our favorite videos exploring their unique relationship. Here were our three recommendations to watch:
- Watch wildlife on Beaver Dam (including wolves) via trail camera for one year in Voyageurs National Park. It’s a fun look at all the life benefiting from a beaver dam through the seasons in Northern Minnesota: https://youtu.be/GH42wHVNa-M?si=avnkf7w8rp1qOBn7v (6 min)
- “Lords of Nature: Life in a Land of Great Predators” - This is an amazing documentary on wolves, and explains how they are connected to the Aspen and beaver recovery in Yellowstone National Park. It also highlights how Aldo Leopold changed his views on wolves and spent the last years of his life trying to educate others on their value. They even show Aldo’s famous home along the Wisconsin River! This is a “MUST- WATCH for this weekend! https://www.greenfireproductions.org/the-films/lords-of-nature/ (58 min)
- Voyageurs Wolf Project Tom Gable presents via recorder webinar: “Being Patient: How on Earth do Wolves Actually Ambush Beavers? If you are wondering how a wolf would actually hunt a beaver and wonder if it involves swimming - check this out: ”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa9BMssVpoM (60 min)
Thank you to everyone who participated in Wolf Awareness Week! If you participated, please fill out our feedback form here.