It is wherever we will let them be. Grand Rapids wildlife biologist Bill Berg agrees. He's been studying wolves since they were hunted for bounty - since before GPS, or Sam Merrill existed. The study's real value, he says, will be in forecasting wolf range growth and direction as the collared pups leave home - or disperse. What we really want to know is where wolves are going to end up in the state, and where they can be managed.
Anecdotal evidence suggests wolves continue to migrate to new ground.
Government trappers this year have taken a record number of wolves in response to livestock killings as far south as Cambridge. Soon the state will start its biggest wolf census in a decade - it's believed the census will show more than 2000 wolves in Minnesota, far above wolf recovery goals. It's likely they'll be removed from federal protection within two years, and the state will take over wolf management. With that on the horizon, wildlife managers want all the biology they can get their hands on. In his Camp Ripley office, Merrill rattles two maps across his desk - maps of the military base, overlaid with zigzagging lines.