According to the recently published results of a study conducted by the New York State Museum, it appears that wolves have migrated into the Empire State as well as other areas in the northeast.

That should come as no great surprise to many of you but for the first time, scientists used a new isotope test to determine whether eight wolves found in the northeast over the past few decades had been living in the wild or had escaped from captivity. Wolves are not known to breed in New York State but are occasionally discovered here.

Three of the eight wolves tested were probably natural immigrants because they had a history of eating wild foods. One of those wolves was found in Saratoga County in 2001 and the other two came from Vermont in 1998 and 2006. The isotope signatures of five others suggested they had been eating food in captivity and were probably escaped pets or zoo animals.

Although the study shows that at least three of the critters naturally migrated into the northeast, there is no evidence at this point to suggest that there is an established breeding population hereabouts.

Wolves have allegedly been extinct in the northeastern United States since the late 1800’s but ample populations have survived in Quebec and Ontario and have recently been expanding into the Great Lakes area. As an interesting aside, I had a sizable wolf walk right under my tree stand while I was hunting moose in Quebec about a dozen years ago.

Citing other studies that show increases in wolf populations in the Great Lakes area and increased protection of wolves in Ontario, it’s likely that even more wolves will migrate into the northeast in the near future and concludes that there is “ — substantial suitable habitat in northeastern New York and New England that could support a viable population of wolves.”

If the critters were to become established, this new top predator would probably displace and reduce the coyote population in the northeast and change the behavior and densities of other prey such as deer. However, I’m not certain that replacing one predator with a much larger, more efficient one is such a great idea but if they were to migrate into New York State on their own I can’t imagine how that movement could be mitigated.

 As for changing the “behavior and densities” of the deer populations it can’t result in anything but a further reduction of the herd, especially in the Adirondacks, though you’re not likely to find many wolves in areas where there are already low deer population. Little food means few wolves. Instead, they’ll eventually head for areas where the deer and other prey populations are higher.

Unfortunately, that often means closer to human populations too.

GSLFF ICE FISHING CONTEST

The Great Sacandaga Lake Fisheries Federation’s annual ice fishing contest will be held on Saturday, Jan. 28, the same day as the big Walleye Challenge event. While the Challenge is strictly a walleye contest, the GSLFF event will offer $1,500 in prizes in the northern pike, perch and trout divisions, meaning you can now enter just about anything you catch in one contest or the other.

The Fisheries Federation Contest will be headquartered at the Sacandaga Boating Club which will also serve as the sole measuring station (judging will be by length) and the contest hours will be 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. The entry fee is $15 per person though youngsters 12 and under can participate for free if fishing with an adult who has paid the entry fee.

Three prizes of $300, $150 and $50 will be offered in each of the three divisions cited above. During the contest you can call 518-227-8298 for up-to-the-minute information on the status of the prize board.

For additional information now you can call Jack Smith at 863-4271 or Randy Gardinier at 848-7248. You can also get additional information by going to: www.gslff.com on the web.

Incidentally, the annual ice fishing contest conducted by the Fish House Fish and Game Club will be held on Saturday, Jan. 14 and I’ll have additional information on that event in a week or two.

Winter doesn’t officially begin until Dec. 22 but it appears to have arrived a tad early this year so we may be ice fishing a week or two sooner than normal if this current weather pattern persists. Start getting your gear ready now, just in case.