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Moose and elk were once common in the Northern Lower and Upper Peninsulas, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

Buffalo, Moose, Elk Once Roamed Bay City Area, Not to Mention Wolves

Pioneer Reports Reveal a World That Can Hardly Be Imagined Today

August 21, 2005       Leave a Comment
By: Dave Rogers

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Oh, give me a home, where the buffalo roam. Or rather, used to roam at one time many years ago.

That would be Bay City.

Wild animals roaming here a century and a half ago also included moose, elk and wolves.

One pioneer made a gruesome report of being chased by wolves and escaping by hiding under a huge snow-covered iron kettle. The frightened pioneer was forced into chopping off the feet of the wolves as they dug through the ice around the kettle attempting to reach him.Ah, the good old days!

Growing interest in local history has highlighted the recollections of early pioneer William R. McCormick, recounted in a book published by the Bay County Historical Society.

Lois Kent Honsowetz edited the 81-page book, entitled "PIONEER MEMORIES," that is available in the Bay County Historical Museum, 321 Washington Ave.

Below: Buffalo and wolves roamed the State of Michigan.





The awareness of the local wildlife is only occasionally revived when a coyote is spotted, like one who recently came face-to-face with a Bay Valley resident out for a morning walk.

A couple of years ago this writer espied a coyote standing pertly on a hill at North Union and Three Mile. The spot is forever known in my memory as Coyote Hill.

Wolves are moving south in the lower peninsula of Michigan and, who knows, the fearsome creatures may yet some day reach their ancestors' old hunting grounds in Bay County. A wolf was killed in Presque Isle County area a year or so ago, more have been sighted near Gaylord and recent counts show hundreds of wolves are present in the wilds of northern Michigan.

The DNR states that wolves were once found in all 83 Michigan counties. The last recorded wolf in the Lower Peninsula was in 1910 until last year's sightings. They began naturally returning to the U.P. via Canada and Wisconsin in the late 1980s. Today, Michigan's Upper Peninsula is home to at least 360 wolves and there may be dozens in the Lower Peninsula.

When the pioneers arrived here, wolves were so prevalent that the state offered bounties for them. Killing wolves for the bounties was one of the first occupations of some pioneers.



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Documents recently researched in the James G. Birney papers at the Clements Library in Ann Arbor revealed a "wolf certificate" given by Birney, as justice of the peace, to Mader Tromble. To claim the $10 bounty,Mr. Tromble had to turn in the scalp and ears to prove he had killed the creature. It was a rude reminder of our past life among wild animals.

Still, it is startling today to read reports by McCormick that the Indians had said buffalo were very numerous in this country a long time ago. McCormick said he had ploughed up buffalo horns many times on old Indian fields.

"Elk were very plenty here when I was a boy, especially in the Cass River (area)," he wrote. "There was a few moose remaining yet on the head of the Cass River and in what is now called Huron County in 1833 and four large moose was killed in the river at Saginaw City in 1836 by some squaws who were crossing the river in their canoe. It was an Indian's earthly paradise."

Elk were reintroduced in Michigan in the early 1900s and their population has continued to grow despite some depredation by parasites. The Department of Natural Resources Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) program is offering a Beyond BOW workshopon Michigan's elk herd Sept. 10-11 at Canada Creek Ranch in Montmorency County.



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"We are very pleased to sponsor this excitingnew program that offers women the opportunity to learn about these majestic animals and perhaps see them in the wild," said Lynn Marla, DNR BOW coordinator. "There will be plenty of time for elk viewing, and the bulls may even be bugling at that time."

During the workshop, participants will learn about elk in Michigan; their history, reintroduction, habits, telemetry and tracking methods used to study elk movements and what state wildlife managers are doing to ensure a healthy elk herd. A special guest speaker is Maggie Engler, the women's representative for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

Moose were once common in the Northern Lower and Upper Peninsulas, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. By 1900, moose were gone from the Lower Peninsula and the population substantially reduced in the Upper Peninsula. Although it is not clear how they got there, by 1930, the number of moose on Isle Royale had increased to an estimated 3000 animals. In 1934-37, the Michigan Department of Conservation undertook a project to reduce moose numbers on Isle Royale and replenish the mainland UP moose herd with animals from Isle Royale. The state DNR continues to monitor the results of translocations of moose.###

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Dave Rogers

Dave Rogers is a former editorial writer for the Bay City Times and a widely read,
respected journalist/writer in and around Bay City.
(Contact Dave Via Email at carraroe@aol.com)

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