WMAC Council Members

Miles Falck

Miles has served the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) as the Michigan wildlife biologist from 1997-2016, and as the wildlife section leader since 2016.  Miles has previously served on species advisory committees in Michigan for wolves, bears, and elk.

GLIFWC is an intertribal agency that provides natural resource management expertise, conservation enforcement, legal and policy analysis, and public information services for its 11 member tribes in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.  These tribes retain hunting, fishing, and gathering rights in the territories ceded to the United States in the treaties of 1836, 1837, 1842, and 1854, including portions of the Great Lakes.

Beatrice M. Friedlander

Bee is a founding and board member of Canton-based Attorneys for Animals, Inc., and the Animal Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan.  She is a board member of the Animals & Society Institute in Ann Arbor.  She serves on the boards of Leuk's Landing and the Bird Center of Michigan and is a hands-on volunteer at both organizations.

Bee received J.D. and B.A. (Sociology) degrees from Ohio State University and a Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Non-Profit Sector Studies from Wayne State University.

Her goals as a member of the Wolf Management Advisory Council (WMAC) are to ensure transparency, provide information to advocates and others interested in the WMAC's work, and represent the interests of wolves.

Jared Duquette

Jared is the chief of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR)  Wildlife Division.

Mike Thorman

Mike is a retired high school teacher, football, and baseball coach.  He has three daughters, two teachers, and an occupational therapist that grew up on the family farm in Lapeer county.  He has always been an avid hunter, fisherman, and trapper.  He particularly enjoys his hounds.  He was on the original wolf round table and all subsequent wolf committees.  He feels it is important to understand the accurate history of how we got to where we are at today, and how important it is to plan for the future with sound scientific management for all species.

Richard Pershinske

Richard is a lifetime farmer, born and raised on a family dairy farm in Engadine, Michigan.  Now in the 5th generation with centennial lineage on both sides of the family.  

Richard is a Michigan State graduate with a degree in accounting and a CPA certificate.  He is a United States Air Force Veteran, serving three years in Strategic Air Command.  He has been married for 58 years with four children, two of his children are involved in farming now.  The third will return soon. 

He has owned and operated Engadine Feed and Supply, Inc., for 44 years.  He is in constant contact with the agricultural community throughout a large portion of the Upper Peninsula (UP).  He has been involved with wolf management since the original round table.  Likewise, he served as the Chair of the Eastern UP Citizens Advisory Council for 10 consecutive years until retirement.  

Finally, as a farmer, he has also been an active hunter, fisherman, and trapper since he was eight years old.  At the same time, he fully understood why we need to protect our resources and environment, based on sound science, common sense, and good stewardship.  He is looking forward to continued involvement with wolf management and serving the citizens of Michigan.

Amy Trotter

Amy Trotter is the executive director for Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC), the nation's largest, most effective state-based conservation organization.  Having served in this role since December 2018, Amy has been serving as Deputy Director since 2015 and on MUCC staff since 2007.  She is responsible for carrying out the strategic objectives of the organization in all its phases:  policy/program; outreach/education; communications; administrative and fundraising.  Amy provides staff leadership and oversees the business operations, works with the MUCC Executive and Conservation Policy Boards, and leads the annual budget development.

Amy is best known for her role in advocacy on behalf of MUCC's grassroots members and conservationists in Michigan.  Since 2007, she has worked to advance the organization's policy agenda within the Michigan Legislature and Michigan Natural Resources Commission.  She has served as the primary MUCC staff contact as it relates to wolf management and served on the Wolf Forum and the Wolf Management Advisory Council (2011-2015) to provide input into previous planning efforts.  Her other responsibilities have included grant management and oversight each year, including applying for new opportunities, tracking, and reporting on grant-funded activities. 

Prior to joining MUCC in 2007, Amy was a consultant for natural resources at Public Sector Consultants, a non-partisan, public policy research firm in Lansing.

Amy has earned a Bachelor of Science from Michigan State University at Lyman Briggs School-Environmental Science and Management and an additional Bachelor of Science in resource development-environmental studies and applications.  She also completed the Natural Resources Leadership Project and the Michigan Society of Association Executives' Academy of Association Management.