Brian Roell, the Michigan DNR’s Large Carnivore Specialist, will set the record straight in terms of science, history and trends for large carnivores in Michigan. His presentation will primarily focus on wolves by providing a brief history of wolf management in Michigan along with the changing State and Federal classification status. Brian will also discuss how the DNR conducts wolf population estimates using the latest science techniques. His presentation will also provide an update on cougars and lynx populations and wrap up with the role of science in wildlife management and the possible harvest of wolves.

Brian holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology (Ecology) Group Science from Northern Michigan University and a Master of Science degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Northern Colorado where he studied the demography and spatial use of swift fox on the Pawnee National Grasslands.  He has 27 years of experience as a Michigan Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Biologist, most of which was spent working with wolves. His primary function is to conduct wolf management, monitoring and research and he is considered an expert in depredation, determination and the chemical immobilization of wildlife. Brian also continues to be involved in moose and furbearer management and research and is one of the two state experts for feral swine in Michigan. Because of his years of experience, he is considered the multitool of biologists and continues his duties as an area habitat biologist in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.