One of six bands of lake superior of chippewa indians, the LAC courte oreilles (LCO) tribe resides in the prime wolf habitat of northern wisconsin and have always had a close association to maiingan…

The U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) awarded the Lac Courte Oreilles (LCO) Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin a $110,510 Tribal Wildlife Grant to revise the tribe's 2013 wolf (Maiingan) management plan. The new "Lac Courte Oreilles Maiingan Relationship Plan" will incorporate traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) as well as contemporary ecological, biological, and social science to guide wolf management within the tribe's ceded territory. This will enable the LCO tribe, as a co-manager of natural resources, to better fulfill its stewardship responsibilities for wolves which hold significant cultural importance. The updated plan is expected to be completed by June 30, 2026 and will be used in conjunction with the new Wisconsin state wolf management plan.

One of six bands of lake superior of chippewa indians, the LAC courte oreilles (LCO) tribe resides in the prime wolf habitat of northern wisconsin and have always had a close association to maiingan or grey wolves (canis lupus). On FEB. 10, 2022, maiingan were relisted as an endangered species in the lower 48 states under the endangered species act (ESA), while ESA currently protects maiingan IT is not designed to permanently protect individual animals from hunting or other active management. The purpose of the ESA is to prevent the extinction of imperiled species and to recover them. Once the threshold of recovery has been met, the U.S. Fish wildlife service is mandated to return wolf management to state and tribal wildlife agencies.culturally the maiingan-ojibwe union is a spiritual relationship, a brotherhood. Since the creation of man, the ojibwe have understood that all creatures have a role to play in a healthy ecosystem. The absence of any one plant or animal impacts everything else, resulting in sickness and any number of maladies. This traditional knowledge merits stewardship and a contemporary management plan.as CO-managers of the natural resources in ceded territories IT is the tribes duty and right to care for the beings (plant and animal) of this region. Contemporary views on managing natural resources depend on directives and research laid out in management plans for specific species of interest, such as maiingan or canis lupus. If a plan is old, IT will not contain recent research or current best practices. This does not allow a steward of natural resources to do their best when IT comes to their responsibilities. In plans created by non- natives there is also a lack of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), direct environmental observations passed down from generation to generation usually orally, but not always. This project proposes to revise the LAC courte oreilles wolf (maiingan) management plan created in 2013 with an updated LAC courte oreilles maiingan relationship plan, that reflects more fully lcos perspective of maiingan. The new plan will use TEK, as well as contemporary ecological, biological, and social science. The plan will also address CO-management challenges in the ceded territory to be used in conjunction with the new wisconsin state wolf management plan.