DNR, MSU Finish Camera Wolf Count In UP

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 08/06/2026) Michigan State University and Department of Natural Resources researchers estimate a population of nearly 800 gray wolves in the Upper Peninsula, the result of a five-year camera survey.

The camera survey started in 2022 with a pilot program, and over the course of the program has created more than 2 million pictures from the 1,311 DNR-owned cameras put on tree trunks. The memory cards and batteries for the cameras have been changed once per year.

“Our winter track survey was doing exactly what it was designed to do, and that is to get a minimum count of wolves in wintertime. And now the camera survey is doing exactly what it’s intended to do, and that is to provide information on changes in total abundance throughout the year,” DNR Research Specialist Tyler Petroelje said.

The camera survey put the low end at 525 wolves in March 2025 and the high end of 1,198 wolves in October 2024.

Since 2014, the DNR has kept track of wolf tracks in the wild in the winter, but those identifications require ideal snow conditions and require locating a pack multiple times before making a determination.

“If you think back to 2024, that was a very mild winter, and the track survey was difficult to pull off. And then in 2026, we had the opposite – it was snowing every day and covering up the tracks, making it difficult as well,” said DNR Large Carnivore Specialist Brian Roell.

Camera survey estimates from February 2024 and March 2024 showed about 800 wolves, just like the snow track count estimate.

MSU doctoral candidate Matt Nelson, who is working on the study with the DNR, said he will be in the woods pulling memory cards until October.

“There were no real surprises. The camera survey worked really well and aligned with what we know about wolf ecology,” Nelson said.