Twenty years ago, it was a rare occasion when a wolf wandered the woods of the Upper Peninsula. The large canines were thought to have been extirpated from the state by the 1960s. But wolves can be grand travelers and occasional animals from Canada or from an established population in Minnesota found their way here.

That all changed in 1989, when a small pack of gray wolves established a territory in the central U.P. They quickly made themselves at home, reproduced, and additional packs spread across the region. Now, the Department of Natural Resources estimates the U.P. is home to more than 500 wolves, based on last winter's survey.

Even more significantly, Michigan's wolves have been removed from the federal Endangered and Threatened Species List, setting the stage for a new chapter in wolf management in the state.

At the July meeting of the Natural Resources Commission in Munising, DNR Director Rebecca Humphries approved a new Wolf Management Plan for Michigan.

The new plan replaces the old plan adopted in 1997, when the state was still largely in a protect-and-allow-to-expand mode with a strategy that focuses on the coexistence of humans with a viable wolf population.

The wolf management plan was developed through an extensive public input process that began in 2005 and included public meetings; focus group meetings with stakeholders; a public attitude study and input from the Wolf Management Roundtable, a diverse group of Michigan citizens with varying interests in wolves.

"Our focus has shifted from recovery of an endangered species to active management of a more widespread and abundant species," Humphries said. "We've done extensive work to revise our wolf management plan to ensure we address both the biological and social aspects of managing this species."

In August of last year, the draft plan was available for public review for 90 days and after DNR staffers reviewed public comments and revised the plan appropriately, it was submitted to the Natural Resources Commission this spring for additional review.

The new wolf management plan outlines four principal goals:

• maintain a viable Michigan wolf population above a level that would warrant its classification as threatened or endangered,
• facilitate wolf-related benefits,
• minimize wolf-related conflict and
• conduct science-based wolf management that is socially acceptable.

Among the first actions for the DNR is to remove the wolf from the state Endangered and Threatened Species List. That process is underway, said Pat Lederle, the supervisor for DNR Wildlife Division's research section.

One of the unique characteristics of the plan is that unlike other management plans -- for white-tailed deer, for instance, or Canada geese -- there are no numerical population goals associated with wolves.

"Our approach for wolf management is to focus on managing impacts," Lederle said.

The DNR's response to issues, he said, depends on the severity and frequency of those impacts.

"If there's a livestock depredation problem that can be dealt with non-lethally, we'll do that," Lederle said. "If we feel it's a problem that should be dealt with by reducing the number of wolves in an area, we'll do that. If we think that we need to reduce the population of wolves in a region, we'll do that.

"A numerical goal suggests we should automatically take action based on the number of wolves. But the frequency of impacts is rarely dependent on the size of the population."

The hope, Lederle said, is that hunters and trappers will be able to help the DNR with some of the population management efforts if they become necessary.

"There are groups that would like to have wolves designated as a game species, but that's a legal process," Lederle explained. "The Legislature has to designate them as a game species and the Legislature has to authorize the first season before the NRC decides on the method and manner of take."

The DNR has begun a study in the U.P. to help evaluate the impacts of all large predators -- wolves, coyotes, bears -- on white-tailed deer populations. Although wolves are capable of using a lot of deer, they are opportunistic creatures.

In harsh winters -- like last winter in the U.P., when a lot of deer died -- wolves take advantage of that natural mortality, Lederle said.

Although the wolf population expanded rapidly after the animals first became established in 1989, the rate of increase has slowed substantially.

"We believe the most suitable habitat is being occupied," Lederle said. "One of the highest mortality factors is wolves killing other wolves in territorial disputes."

The multi-faceted Wolf Management Plan includes sections on information and education, research, regulatory protection, wolf prey and habitat, diseases, human safety, depredation of domestic animals, public harvest and wolf-dog hybrids.

Despite state adoption of the new management plan, the last word on wolves has not been written. The federal government's decision to delist gray wolves as an endangered or threatened species in the Great Lakes region is being challenged in court. The ruling in that court case could have an impact on Michigan's plan.

To read the new Michigan Wolf Management Plan, you may view it online at www.michigan.gov/dnrwildlife.