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International Wolf Center, Ely
The International Wolf Center in Ely opened in 1989 with a mission of sharing unbiased educational information about wolves, their place in the ecosystem, and their interaction with humans. The center’s staff members conduct research and promote wolf population management to ensure the species’ long-term survival.
Congress passed the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1966 to protect native animal species facing possible extinction. The 1973 amendment to the act created the classifications of “endangered” and “threatened.” The US Secretary of the Interior added the eastern timber wolf, a subspecies of gray wolf, to the list of endangered species in 1967.
Minnesota’s wolf population, estimated by the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to have been as high as 4,000 to 8,000 wolves before European settlement, had dwindled to just 350 to 700 individuals in 1964. By 1976, the population had grown to 1,000 to 1,200 wolves. Two years later, the US Fish and Wildlife Service reclassified Minnesota’s wolves from endangered to threatened status. That year, researchers estimated that the gray wolf’s range covered 23,398 square miles of northern Minnesota in three recognized zones. The secretary of the Department of the Interior designated these zones as critical habitat.
As the wolf population rebounded, the Science Museum of Minnesota, working with an advisory committee that included wolf researcher Dr. David L. Mech, Native Americans, and others, created Wolves and Humans. This educational exhibit toured the country for nine years before returning to Minnesota. Wolf researchers wanted a permanent home for the exhibit, and began to plan for an international wolf center with a core mission of unbiased education about wolves.
With the largest wolf population in the lower forty-eight states, Minnesota seemed the natural choice for the location of the wolf center. The selection committee named four possible cities: Ely, Duluth, Grand Rapids, and International Falls. The committee chose Ely because of its close proximity to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and wolf habitat zones.
Plans for the new wolf center focused on Vermilion Community College, with a separate exhibit space nearby. Funding for the center came from state and private sources. The International Wolf Center, featuring the Wolves and Humans exhibit and four gray wolf pups, opened to the public in its temporary location in May 1989.
In June 1993, the wolf center moved to its permanent location in the refurbished Voyageurs Visitor Center in Ely. Nearly 60,000 people visited the center in its first year. The $3 million, 17,000-square-foot facility featured classrooms, a theatre, a library, and a museum store. In 1998, the center expanded with a 3,260-square-foot addition. It included a 120-seat wolf viewing area and additional laboratory, classroom, and storage space.
The center’s ambassador wolves, all born in captivity and raised from pups at the center, roam a 1.2-acre enclosure. Older wolves are retired from display, and blog posts keep the public updated on their status. Visitors observe the wolf pack from the viewing area and enjoy educational presentations by wildlife biologists.
Center staff and board members organize an international symposium every four years and offer webinars on wolf behavior and management. A quarterly magazine, International Wolf, features articles on wolf conservation and management from around the globe. Programs range from day trips to week-long educational experiences that include wildlife photography workshops, hiking, snowshoeing, dog sledding, and radio tracking of wolves. In 2019, the center opened the Discover Wolves! exhibit.
Many learning opportunities are available to students, including an online course curriculum and WolfLink video conferencing sessions. A free program, Wolves at Our Door, is offered in parks, nature centers, and public libraries. In 2007, wolf center staff collaborated with the Minnesota Zoo and St. Paul-based Eduweb to create WolfQuest, an award-winning, 3-D interactive video game that gives players the opportunity to "live the life of a wild wolf.”
The 2007–2008 wolf census showed a stable population of gray wolves in Minnesota of nearly 3,000 animals. In 2018, an estimated 2,655 wolves roamed the state’s northern habitat zones. The success of conservation efforts and the state DNR’s commitment to wolf management led the US Fish and Wildlife Service to propose the delisting of the gray wolf in the Great Lakes area from the ESA in 2019.

Bibliography
“4 Northern Cities Picked as Finalists for Wolf Center.” Minneapolis Tribune, September 6, 1985.
Anderson, Dennis. “Wolf Tales: As Once-endangered Timber Wolves Expand Range, Ely Center Thrives.” Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 3, 1994.
International Wolf Center.
https://wolf.org
Mech, L. David. “Eastern Timber Wolf: A Howling Success for the Endangered Species Act.” Wolf.org. https://www.wolf.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/180wolfrecovery.pdf
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Comments on the US Fish and Wildlife Service's Proposed Rule "Removing the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) From the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife," 84 Fed. Reg. 9648 (March 15, 2019) (to be codified at 50 CR 117). https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/fish_wildlife/wildlife/wolves/wolf_comments19.pdf
——— . Gray Wolf.
https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mammals/wolves/mgmt.html
——— . Wolf Hunting and Trapping.
https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/hunting/wolf/index.html
Science Museum of Minnesota. Wolves and Humans. https://www.smm.org/exhibitservices/portfolio/wolves-and-humans
Session Laws of the State of Minnesota for 2001, Chapter 2, Section 5, Subdivision 8 (6). Revisor of Statutes, State of Minnesota, 2001.
US Fish and Wildlife Service. Gray Wolves—Western Great Lakes States. Wolf Numbers in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan (excluding Isle Royale)—1976–2015. https://www.fws.gov/midwest/wolf/population/mi_wi_nos.html
——— . US Fish and Wildlife Service Recovery Plan for the Eastern Timber Wolf, rev. 1992. https://www.fws.gov/midwest/wolf/aboutwolves/pdf/grwo_recovplan.pdf
Vandervort, Keith. “Pups a Draw at Wolf Center.” Ely Timberjay, November 18, 2016.
——— . “Wolf Pups Now Part of the Pack at Wolf Center. Ely Timberjay, August 19, 2016.
Winegar, Karin. “Center Celebrates the Lure of the Wolf.” Minneapolis Tribune, June 25, 1993.
WolfQuest.
https://www.wolfquest.org
Related Resources
Primary
112.F.8.6F
Subject files, 1946–2003
Minnesota Department of Administration, Commissioner’s Office
State Archives Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Correspondence, memos, reports, manuals, and other materials relating to the operation of various state government departments, boards, and commissions.
http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/admin020.xml
Dokken, Brad. “Species in Conflict: Minnesota Wolf Management Follows Bumpy Path on Road to Recovery.” Duluth News Tribune, April 15, 2018.
Secondary
Brandenburg, Jim. Brother Wolf. Minocqua, WI: NorthWord Press, 1993.
Fritts, Steven H., et al. Trends and Management of Wolf-Livestock Conflicts in Minnesota. Washington, DC: US Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, 1992.
——— . Wolf Depredation on Livestock in Minnesota. Washington, DC: US Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, 1982.
Gese, Eric Michael, and L. David Mech. “Dispersal of Wolves (Canis lupus) in Northeastern Minnesota, 1969–1989.” Canadian Journal of Zoolog 69 (1991): 2946–2955.
Gibson, Nancy. Wolves. Stillwater, MN: Voyageur Press, 1996.
International Wolf: A Publication of the International Wolf Center. Brooklyn Center, MN: The Center, 1991–.
International Wolf Center: Wolves & Humans—Coexistence, Competition, Conflict. Ely, MN: International Wolf Center, [1988?].
Kellert, Stephen R. The Public and the Timber Wolf in Minnesota. United States: N.p., 1985.
Mech, L. David, et al. Ecological Studies of the Timber Wolf in Northeastern Minnesota. St. Paul: US North Central Forest Experiment Station, 1971.
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/37595
Mech, L. David, ed. The Wolves of Minnesota: Howl in the Heartland. Stillwater, MN: Voyageur Press, 2000.
——— . “Why Some Deer Are Safe From Wolves.” Natural History 88, no. 1 (January 1979): 70–77.
“Travel Notes.” Minneapolis Tribune, December 6, 1992.
Vandervort, Keith. “Wolf Center to Mark One Million Visitors.” Ely Timberjay, April 14, 2017.
“Wolf Could Come Off Endangered List by End of 2011.” Ely Echo, December 18, 2010.
OH 21
Oral History Interview with Milt Stenlund, June 22, 1995
Oral History Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Stenlund discusses his wolf research during the 1940s.
http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=10408472
Session Laws of the State of Minnesota for 1965, Chapter 902 – SF No. 2016: Sec. 4, Subdivision 3 (a). Revisor of Statutes, State of Minnesota, 1965.
Stenlund, Milt. Technical Bulletin no. 4: A Field Study of the Timber Wolf (Canis lupus) on the Superior National Forest, Minnesota. St. Paul: Minnesota Department of Conservation, 1965.
——— . Wolves in Minnesota. Grand Rapids, MN: Northprint, 1985.
Web
US Fish and Wildlife Service. A History of the Endangered Species Act of 1973. https://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/esa-history.html
——— . A History of the Endangered Species Act of 1973/1978 ESA Amendment. https://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/esa-1978.html
——— . A History of the Endangered Species Act of 1973/1982 ESA Amendment. https://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/esa-1982.html
——— . A History of the Endangered Species Act of 1973/1988 ESA Amendment. https://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/esa-1988.html
——— . A History of the Endangered Species Act of 1973/2004 ESA Amendment. https://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/esa-2004.html
Related Video
International Wolf Center, Ely
Footage of wolves at the International Wolf Center in Ely filmed by Linda A. Cameron in 2019.
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Viewing area at the International Wolf Center
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International Wolf Center
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Boltz, an ambassador wolf
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Ambassador wolf pack
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Arctic wolves
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Mosaic at entrance to wolf exhibit
The entrance to the Discover Wolves! exhibit at the International Wolf Center, 2019. The mosaic, created by Split Rock Studios, is made up of thousands of images of wolves.
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Mosaic at International Wolf Center
Detail of the wolf mosaic outside the Discover Wolves! exhibit at the International Wolf Center, 2019.
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Exhibit at International Wolf Center
The Discover Wolves! exhibit at the International Wolf Center in Ely, 2019.
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Exhibit at International Wolf Center
The Discover Wolves! exhibit at the International Wolf Center in Ely, 2019.
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Exhibit at International Wolf Center
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Exhibit at International Wolf Center
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Dr. David L. Mech
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Exhibit at International Wolf Center
The Wolves and Humans exhibit at the International Wolf Center, 2019. Photo by International Wolf Center staff.
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Wolves in snowfall
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Exhibit at the International Wolf Center
Detail of the Wolves and Humans exhibit at the International Wolf Center, 2019. Photo by International Wolf Center staff.
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Related Articles
Turning Point
Ely is chosen as the location for the new International Wolf Center in November 1987 due to its proximity to key wolf habitat zones.
Chronology
1965
1966
1967
1973
1983
1987
1989
1993
2001
2007
2011
2014
2018
2019
2020
Bibliography
“4 Northern Cities Picked as Finalists for Wolf Center.” Minneapolis Tribune, September 6, 1985.
Anderson, Dennis. “Wolf Tales: As Once-endangered Timber Wolves Expand Range, Ely Center Thrives.” Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 3, 1994.
International Wolf Center.
https://wolf.org
Mech, L. David. “Eastern Timber Wolf: A Howling Success for the Endangered Species Act.” Wolf.org. https://www.wolf.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/180wolfrecovery.pdf
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Comments on the US Fish and Wildlife Service's Proposed Rule "Removing the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) From the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife," 84 Fed. Reg. 9648 (March 15, 2019) (to be codified at 50 CR 117). https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/fish_wildlife/wildlife/wolves/wolf_comments19.pdf
——— . Gray Wolf.
https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mammals/wolves/mgmt.html
——— . Wolf Hunting and Trapping.
https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/hunting/wolf/index.html
Science Museum of Minnesota. Wolves and Humans. https://www.smm.org/exhibitservices/portfolio/wolves-and-humans
Session Laws of the State of Minnesota for 2001, Chapter 2, Section 5, Subdivision 8 (6). Revisor of Statutes, State of Minnesota, 2001.
US Fish and Wildlife Service. Gray Wolves—Western Great Lakes States. Wolf Numbers in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan (excluding Isle Royale)—1976–2015. https://www.fws.gov/midwest/wolf/population/mi_wi_nos.html
——— . US Fish and Wildlife Service Recovery Plan for the Eastern Timber Wolf, rev. 1992. https://www.fws.gov/midwest/wolf/aboutwolves/pdf/grwo_recovplan.pdf
Vandervort, Keith. “Pups a Draw at Wolf Center.” Ely Timberjay, November 18, 2016.
——— . “Wolf Pups Now Part of the Pack at Wolf Center. Ely Timberjay, August 19, 2016.
Winegar, Karin. “Center Celebrates the Lure of the Wolf.” Minneapolis Tribune, June 25, 1993.
WolfQuest.
https://www.wolfquest.org
Related Resources
Primary
112.F.8.6F
Subject files, 1946–2003
Minnesota Department of Administration, Commissioner’s Office
State Archives Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Correspondence, memos, reports, manuals, and other materials relating to the operation of various state government departments, boards, and commissions.
http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/admin020.xml
Dokken, Brad. “Species in Conflict: Minnesota Wolf Management Follows Bumpy Path on Road to Recovery.” Duluth News Tribune, April 15, 2018.
Secondary
Brandenburg, Jim. Brother Wolf. Minocqua, WI: NorthWord Press, 1993.
Fritts, Steven H., et al. Trends and Management of Wolf-Livestock Conflicts in Minnesota. Washington, DC: US Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, 1992.
——— . Wolf Depredation on Livestock in Minnesota. Washington, DC: US Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, 1982.
Gese, Eric Michael, and L. David Mech. “Dispersal of Wolves (Canis lupus) in Northeastern Minnesota, 1969–1989.” Canadian Journal of Zoolog 69 (1991): 2946–2955.
Gibson, Nancy. Wolves. Stillwater, MN: Voyageur Press, 1996.
International Wolf: A Publication of the International Wolf Center. Brooklyn Center, MN: The Center, 1991–.
International Wolf Center: Wolves & Humans—Coexistence, Competition, Conflict. Ely, MN: International Wolf Center, [1988?].
Kellert, Stephen R. The Public and the Timber Wolf in Minnesota. United States: N.p., 1985.
Mech, L. David, et al. Ecological Studies of the Timber Wolf in Northeastern Minnesota. St. Paul: US North Central Forest Experiment Station, 1971.
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/37595
Mech, L. David, ed. The Wolves of Minnesota: Howl in the Heartland. Stillwater, MN: Voyageur Press, 2000.
——— . “Why Some Deer Are Safe From Wolves.” Natural History 88, no. 1 (January 1979): 70–77.
“Travel Notes.” Minneapolis Tribune, December 6, 1992.
Vandervort, Keith. “Wolf Center to Mark One Million Visitors.” Ely Timberjay, April 14, 2017.
“Wolf Could Come Off Endangered List by End of 2011.” Ely Echo, December 18, 2010.
OH 21
Oral History Interview with Milt Stenlund, June 22, 1995
Oral History Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Stenlund discusses his wolf research during the 1940s.
http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=10408472
Session Laws of the State of Minnesota for 1965, Chapter 902 – SF No. 2016: Sec. 4, Subdivision 3 (a). Revisor of Statutes, State of Minnesota, 1965.
Stenlund, Milt. Technical Bulletin no. 4: A Field Study of the Timber Wolf (Canis lupus) on the Superior National Forest, Minnesota. St. Paul: Minnesota Department of Conservation, 1965.
——— . Wolves in Minnesota. Grand Rapids, MN: Northprint, 1985.
Web
US Fish and Wildlife Service. A History of the Endangered Species Act of 1973. https://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/esa-history.html
——— . A History of the Endangered Species Act of 1973/1978 ESA Amendment. https://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/esa-1978.html
——— . A History of the Endangered Species Act of 1973/1982 ESA Amendment. https://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/esa-1982.html
——— . A History of the Endangered Species Act of 1973/1988 ESA Amendment. https://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/esa-1988.html
——— . A History of the Endangered Species Act of 1973/2004 ESA Amendment. https://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/esa-2004.html