1. Counting Wolves & Other Carnivores (with a little help from our friends) Jane E. Wiedenhoeft Sarah Boles Adrian P. Wydeven

2. Welcome to Wisconsin Volunteer Carnivore Tracking Program

3. Who made this trail?

4. Who Can Become a Volunteer Tracker?

5. What’s Expected of Volunteer Trackers? ò1. Attend training - Wolf Ecology Workshop Track Training Course

6. Wolf Ecology Workshops

7. Wisconsin Canids F4 h4 C Gray Wolf Coyote Dog Red Fox Gray Fox Track Training Courses

9. Track Test

10. What is Expected of Volunteer Trackers? 1. Attend training ò2. Conduct 3 good track surveys following DNR guidelines

17. What is Expected of Volunteer Trackers? 1. Attend training 2. Conduct 3 track surveys ò3. Notify coordinator of 1st wolf, or any other rare species tracks you encounter

18. Jane Wiedenhoeft VT 2 wolves - tx 1637N1E Price Cross Cut Rd. 1 mi. east of Phillips Went into tag alders along creek 11-7-03, ~8:00 a.m. 4”3.5” Yes - attached Tx of 2 wolves crossed the road traveling along the creek. Scat on road. 715762-3204 Park Falls DNR

20. What is Expected of Volunteer Trackers? 1. Attend training 2. Conduct 3 track surveys 3. Notify coordinator of 1st wolf, or any other rare species tracks you encounter ò4. Turn in results of your surveys on time

21. Goals ò1. To determine wolf numbers, distribution, breeding status, & identify wolf packs.

22. No. of wolves No. of packs

24. Goals 1. To determine wolf numbers, distribution, breeding status, & identify wolf packs. ò2. To develop an index of the abundance and distribution of other carnivore species.

25. Goals 1. To determine wolf numbers, distribution, breeding status, & identify wolf packs. 2. To develop an index of the abundance and distribution of other carnivore species. ò3. To determine the existence of rare carnivores such as lynx & puma.

27. More wolves in more places Limited # of DNR trackers No extra

28. Initially from wolf ecology workshops Personal contacts News articles Radio Pamphlet Website

29. How Many Volunteers? From 1995-2003 > 450 volunteers > 5,000 hours > 40,000 km

30. Winter Track Surveys in Wisconsin by WDNR and Volunteers

31. Survey Blocks Tracked by DNR & Volunteers 2003-2004

32. Can we use the Data Volunteers Collect?

33. Tracks Detected/100 miles (1995-2000) Co-surveyed blocks Untrained volunteers54% of WDNR rate Trained volunteers70% of WDNR rate

34. Wolf Detection Rates Volunteer vs. DNR Trackers in Co-Surveyed Blocks

35. Wolf Detection Rates DNR vs. Volunteer Trackers With Varying Experience

37. HOW DO WE USE VOLUNTEER DATA? HTo provide information for survey blocks DNR trackers don’t survey H To alert DNR to wolf activity in new areas H To help estimate the state’s wolf population, distribution, and breeding status when volunteers have adequate training & experience

39. More survey blocks More training Proving the data is useable Communication Regional coordinators

40. Where do we go from Here? More volunteer administration Recognitions Certification of trackers? Changes in wolf monitoring Population estimate vs. counts