"Co-Existing with Wolves" presentation, petition signing Feb. 9 at Portage Library

HOUGHTON -- Nancy Warren, National Wolfwatcher Coalition Great Lakes Regional director, will present "Co-Existing with Wolves" from 1 p.m - 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 9, in the Portage Lake District Library in Houghton. The event will also offer the public an opportunity to  learn about a Referendum to Public Act 520, recent Michigan legislation making the wolf a game animal and allowing a potential wolf hunting season.

Poster announcing the Houghton County Petition Signing Event and presentation by Nancy Warren, National Wolfwatcher Coalition Great Lakes Regional director, on Saturday, Feb. 9, at Portage Lake District Library. (Poster courtesy Portage Lake District Library)

Adam Robarge, founder of the Upper Peninsula Animal Liberation Defense, will be present at this event to discuss the Referendum and offer the public the opportunity to sign a petition and learn how they can help with this project of saying "no" to making the wolf a game animal.

"Why is it that some people think it cute to see a bear at a bird feeder and run for the camera, yet seeing a wolf in a distant field evokes fear for their personal safety?" Warren asks. "My program helps to put the fear of wolves in perspective and explore the ways we can co-exist with wolves on the landscape."

Warren, who lives near Ewen, Mich., is the Volunteer Speakers Bureau Coordinator of the Timber Wolf Alliance (TWA) -- a program of The North Lakeland Discovery Center, Manitowish Waters, Wis. TWA is committed to investigating the facts and relies on the growing body of scientific research to dispel myths and unfounded fears associated with wolves.

"Wolves, a natural part of our state’s heritage and ecology, are reclaiming their presence in the northland," Warren notes. "My passion began about 20 years ago when I learned that we had a handful of wolves in the U.P. I attended workshops, conferences and lectures and discovered that for wolves to survive there needs to be human tolerance. One way to improve human tolerance is by gaining a better understanding of wolf behavior through education."

Warren gives programs at schools and various organizations throughout Northern Wisconsin and the Western U.P. She has been a volunteer tracker for the Wisconsin Volunteer Carnivore Program since 1995, has conducted howling surveys and has assisted with the collaring of several wolves in Wisconsin.

This event is free and open to the public. For more information call the library at (906) 482-4570.

To learn more about the National Wolfwatcher Coalition, visit wolfwatcher.org.

Visit the Upper Peninsula Animal Liberation Defense on Facebook.