Predator & Prey—50 Years of Interdependence
Scientists have been studying the interactions and interdependence of wolves and moose at Michigan's Isle Royale National Park for half a century. Now, a consortium of educational, governmental and natural resources organizations is banding together to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the longest continuous predator-prey study ever conducted.[learn more]
What Are Wolves and Moose For?
Candy Peterson, who has worked with her husband, Michigan Tech wolf ecologist Rolf Peterson, on the wolf-moose predator-prey study on Isle Royale for years, will present a program for children at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, April 26, at the Carnegie Museum in Houghton. Her presentation will include a touch-table and a scavenger hunt. The program is part of an Isle Royale Celebration at the museum.
Carnegie Museum Celebrates Isle Royale
Three new exhibits, including one titled "Wolves and Moose of Isle Royale: Fifty Years of Research," will open at the Carnegie Museum in historic downtown Houghton, Mich., with a public reception from 6:30 to 8 pm. Saturday, April 12.
Rolf Peterson and John Vucetich, wlldlife ecologists from Michigan Tech, and George Desort, an independent film maker who has been chronicling their predator-prey research on Isle Royale, will introduce the exhibit and talk about their work.
The exhibit will be on display at the Carnegie Museum on the corner of Huron and Montezuma Streets through July. Two related exhibits include a selection of artwork from the Isle Royale National Park's Artist-in-Residence Collection and "Above and Below: Shipwrecks of Isle Royale," featuring underwater photos and historic newspaper accounts of Isle Royale shipwrecks.
Winter Study—Fact or Fiction
Anna Pigeon, America's favorite park ranger/sleuth joins Michigan Tech researchers' winter study, in Nevada Barr's latest novel of the same name. Winter Study, Barr's 14th Anna Pigeon mystery, is set on Isle Royale and is scheduled to be released April 1.
While researching her novel, Barr spent eight days with the Michigan Tech scientists during their real winter study in January 2007.
An editorial writer for the Detroit Free Press reviewed the new mystery.
You can order Nevada Barr's new book from the Isle Royale Natural History Association, at www.irnha.org.
Teens and Wolves
There are still places in Michigan Tech's Summer Youth Explorations for high school students who want to track wolves in their native habitat or go wilderness backpacking on Isle Royale this July. The program includes two week-long wolf ecology explorations and a one-week wilderness backpacking adventure at one of the country's most unusual national parks. [Register]
Helping Support the Research
As we enter the next 50 years of research on the wolves and moose of Isle Royale, we’d like to build a financial foundation that will help meet the increased costs of emerging technology. Please consider how you might be able to support this work through a directed bequest or another form of planned giving. For more information, go to www.mtulegacy.org or contact Eric Halonen in the office of development at Michigan Tech (906-487-3325 or ehalonen@mtu.edu).
Sink Your Teeth into Science with Isle Royale School Programs
Elementary school students throughout the Keweenaw will participate in free park ranger-led educational programs during March and April, based on the wolves and moose of Isle Royale. In addition to classroom programs geared to grades two, three and four, "Journey to the Wolf's Eye" consists of 45-minute assembly programs about how scientists study animals in the wild. [more]
Audubon Magazine Features Wolf-Moose Study
The March-April issue of Audubon Magazine features a lengthy story about the Isle Royale Wolf-Moose Study.[more]
A New Family of Wolves
Meet the Paduka Pack, a fourth pack of wolves just spotted on Isle Royale.
Read about this exciting discovery and other notes from the frozen field
on Isle Royale, in John Vucetich and Rolf Peterson's "Notes from Winter
Study." [more]
Michigan Science Teachers Meet the Wolves and Moose
Isle Royale Park employee Susan Sanders made a presentation about the wolf-moose study and its 50th anniversary to the Michigan Science Teachers Association annual conference on March 8. She also staffed a booth at the conference in Lansing, representing the National Parks of the Great Lakes Basin.
Lesson Plans for Teachers
These lesson plans were developed by teachers who have participated in courses through the Isle Royale Institute. Check back later for more lesson plans tied to the 50th Anniversary! [more]
New Edition of Wolves of Isle Royale: a Broken Balance
Michigan Tech wildlife ecologist Rolf Peterson's new edition of "Wolves of Isle Royale: a Broken Balance" has been published by the University of Michigan Press. [more]
Rolf & John on the Road
Rolf O. Peterson, the Michigan Tech wildlife ecologist who has led the Isle Royale Wolf-Moose Predator-Prey Study for more than 35 years, and John A. Vucetich, a population biologist in Michigan Tech's School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, are bringing news of their research to audiences throughout the country over the coming months. [more]