Isle Royale Forums

The wolves have discovered that where there are people there is food. New food handling rules go into effect.

Pasted below because I couldn’t get a link to work.


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NEWS RELEASE

Isle Royale National Park Implements New Food Storage Guidelines To Reduce Human – Wildlife Interactions

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Date: July 13, 2024
Contact: Liz Valencia, 906-369-7146
In response to wolves accessing human food and garbage in and around Rock Harbor and campgrounds located on the east end of the island, Isle Royale National Park is implementing new food storage guidelines to ensure the safety of visitors and wildlife. Campgrounds currently affected are Rock Harbor, Three Mile, Lane Cove, Daisy Farm, Moskey Basin, Duncan Bay, Duncan Narrows, and Merritt Lane. The park compendium provides park-specific regulations and will be updated and available online the week of July 15. Visitors are reminded that feeding wildlife is prohibited.

Effective immediately, these new protocols are required for all visitors entering the affected areas:

Never Leave Packs Unattended: Keep your day pack/backpack (anything with food or trash in it) with you at all times and/or assign a group member to closely monitor packs in your absence.
Proper Storage: Storage of food, garbage, and other scented materials in a campsite now requires following additional procedures including:
Secure your food and trash
The storage of food, garbage, and other scented materials in tents and unattended packs is not permitted.
Campsite shelters are an approved location to secure all items. DO NOT leave items like shoes, socks, food, trash, and cookware unattended outside a shelter.
For those not in shelters, large, gated lockers (kennels or bear-proof canisters) are now in place at Lane Cove, Rock Harbor, Three Mile, Daisy Farm and Moskey Basin campgrounds. These are for storage of food and trash at tent and group sites.
Scented items should be stored in scent-proof bags or containers.
As an alternative to scent-proof bags, visitors who have appropriate equipment and knowledge are encouraged to hang their food at a height greater than 10’.
If storage space is unavailable, please work with fellow campers to store your items in the shelter they are occupying or hang your food.
The park is taking the following additional actions:
Increased Hazing Efforts: Park staff have increased hazing efforts to discourage wolves from approaching populated areas.
Electric Fencing: Electric fencing is being installed around dumpsters in the Rock Harbor area to prevent wolves from accessing and scavenging food waste.
Efficient Waste Management: Full dumpsters are promptly removed to minimize attractants. Individual trash cans in Rock Harbor are being replaced with dumpsters and eventually bear-proof style trash cans.
Enhanced Communication: Increased signage and messaging are being deployed throughout the park to inform visitors about new guidelines and safety measures. Through communication park staff can empower visitors to make changes that will ensure their safety and maintain the natural behaviors of park wildlife.
“Wolves are an integral part of the park ecosystem, and it is critical that we manage our presence responsibly,” said Denice Swanke, Superintendent at Isle Royale National Park. “Implementation will occur on July 13, 2024. Rangers will communicate these changes with 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 safeguard wildlife while ensuring a safe and enjoyable experience for all.”

Does anyone know whether previous generations of IR wolves raided the garbage? I also wonder whether bear canisters are going to join the list of approved storage methods. (There’s apparently a bear in the NE part of Yosemite who’s figured out how to get into a bear canister. But since her method entails pushing it off cliffs hundreds of feet high, it may be of no avail to the IR wolves.)

torpified wrote: ↑Sun Jul 14, 2024 6:17 am Does anyone know whether previous generations of IR wolves raided the garbage? I also wonder whether bear canisters are going to join the list of approved storage methods. (There’s apparently a bear in the NE part of Yosemite who’s figured out how to get into a bear canister. But since her method entails pushing it off cliffs hundreds of feet high, it may be of no avail to the IR wolves.)

When I spent the summer of '79 in RH the wolf population was probably as high or higher than it is now and it never happened. Only one or two sightings a year anywhere on the island.

I believe the problem may partially stem from East pack denning particularly close to RH this year.

Yankee Dog wrote: ↑Sat Jul 13, 2024 6:44 pm
Increased Hazing Efforts: Park staff have increased hazing efforts to discourage wolves from approaching populated areas.”

The rangers are now asking guests to shout and clap at any wolf near any site. No pictures, no starting, just immediately try to scare the wolves off.

When I get home I’ll share a picture of the food storage box At RH campground, they are nice and brand new.

Here is the picture as promised

Hope those bars are close enough to keep the chipmunks out

kkrause wrote: ↑Sat Jul 20, 2024 12:32 pm Here is the picture as promised

The interesting thing with those cages is they are the same cages used to transport the wolves from Minnesota when they reintroduced them.

We just got back from a week long trek last weekend and didn't have any wolf encounters, aside from seeing tracks and hearing them howl one night at West Chickenbone.

Yea, surely not NPS food storage boxes. Likely something they had in storage locally to pull out that would solve the problem temporarily until the real ones come in and can get installed

Those are the boxes the. wolfs were originally send to the island in

Yeah that's what they looked like & it makes sense they'd have a "stock" of them around to use temporarily until real NPS storage boxes can be installed

Also, it’s wouldn’t be weird if the wolves found them somewhat off-putting!

Just back from the island. The rangers handling orientation, at least at Windigo, are all over the board. The ranger told my group to hang food, unless in a shelter, or use odor proof containers (never explaining what counts). She said these rules apply for the entire island. Of course, the NPS site says it applies only to select eastern campsites. A ranger told another group to keep food in tents.

This is a problem because wolves are clearly a problem. I ran into hikers who had face to face wolf encounters inside campgrounds at Lake Ritchie and one other “eastern” site which i cannot recall. Another pair of hikers on the trail to Chippewa told me they were “among” the wolves on the trail and could hear them around them.

Food should have "always" been hung when in the back-country or in a tent anywhere on the island / anytime not staying in a shelter. This is a best-practice in the field and should have not been ignored the past decades.

Historically, rangers have advised keeping food in tents, as best way to protect against squirrels stealing food, which was far more likely than a problem with wolves. Obviously no longer the case, but it worked for decades.