In one of the largest donations made in support of wolves, Eileen Sutz, a native Chicagoan, has bequeathed her estate to three organizations dedicated to educating the public about wolves in North America. The recipients of her gift, Yellowstone Forever, the International Wolf Center, and Wolf Park will share in the funds equally. Each organization has plans to expand their wolf education programs and research with the support and vision of Ms.Sutz behind them.
Eileen Sutz, a lifelong wolf advocate, had strong feelings about protecting and supporting wolves. Believing they were misunderstood and unjustly maligned, she saw the importance of educating people about wolves and protecting the wolf population.
Ms. Sutz’s connection to wolves began in her youth. As a ballet dancer, model, and free spirit ahead of her time, she overcame many obstacles in pursuit of her dreams. She often experienced being misunderstood and constrained by the confines of conventional life, and found strength and resonance with wolves. She admired and found inspiration in their independence, loyalty, and resilience as well as their beauty and gracefulness.
Over the years, Ms. Sutz’s successful business career allowed her to pursue many of her passions including founding a theater company, supporting animal rescue organizations, and traveling the world to follow the Rolling Stones on tour for over 10 years, but her most enduring and passionate interest remained the welfare of wolves.
Physical ailments led to Ms. Sutz being homebound in her later years, and during that time she devoured news about wolves and began passionately defending them at any given opportunity. “It kept her fulfilled to keep working to support wolves,” says longtime friend Klaus Boettcher. “At the same time, it was devastating and depressing to see what was happening to them. She really wanted to support changing the narrative about wolves.”
Following Ms. Sutz’s unexpected passing from a stroke in February 2022, the search began to find organizations that fulfilled her vision, specifically those that supported wolf education and research and weren’t laden with bureaucracy. The three selected organizations have spent the past several months determining how they’ll expand their efforts thanks to the gift from Ms. Sutz. New studies about wolves are planned, new initiatives to train volunteers are in the works, and a new wolf education center is being considered, among other initiatives.
“Eileen would be so happy to know that she was able to make a difference in the lives of wolves, now and in the years to come,” Boettcher said. “Her legacy will live on.”
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About the three recipients of the
Eileen Sutz Estate donation on behalf of wolves
Below are summaries of the three organizations that will share in the Eileen Sutz Estate, and their plans for the donations they will receive:
Yellowstone Forever
Yellowstone Forever is the official nonprofit partner of Yellowstone National Park. It helps fund priority projects in Yellowstone to protect, preserve, and enhance the park through education and philanthropy.
“A gift of this magnitude is truly transformational and will allow the Yellowstone Wolf Project to continue its over 25-year groundbreaking research to better understand and coexist with wolves,” said Lisa Diekmann, President and CEO of Yellowstone Forever.
Eileen Sutz’s estate gift will provide substantial support to Yellowstone’s Wolf Project team to continue its year-round monitoring and field research in which biologists gain data on the park’s wolf population dynamics, social behavior, ecosystem impacts, human-wolf relationships, and much more.
International Wolf Center
The International Wolf Center has sought to teach the world about wolves since it was founded in 1985 by Dr. L. David Mech. The Center welcomes 40,000 visitors a year to its interpretive center in Ely, Minnesota, and it informs the public through a busy website, quarterly magazine, virtual learning, and webinars.
The Center will use the Eileen Sutz estate funding to train new wolf educators across the world so they can spread the science about this misunderstood apex predator. “Thanks to these funds, our organization has a huge opportunity to leverage our community of followers around the world through the launching of a wolf educator training program,” Executive Director Grant Spickelmier said. “By training and equipping community wolf educators we can reach new audiences that might not otherwise hear from the International Wolf Center and simultaneously create a new set of engaged volunteers and champions for science-based wolf education. We like to think that Eileen herself would have been the first person to sign up.”
Wolf Park
Along with the celebration of their 50th anniversary in 2022, the staff, volunteers and board of Wolf Park in Battle Ground, Indiana, have reinvigorated their work to make their strategic visions a reality. Since 1972 Wolf Park’s team has worked steadfastly to provide naturalistic habitats for animals in their care, foster the creation of wildlife corridors and rewilded areas on its property to support our local ecosystems, and to offer spaces for the humans who work and learn at the facility to most effectively care for and learn from their wildlife ambassadors. Using Eileen Sutz’s gift, one of their many goals is improving buildings and exhibit areas to enhance the visitor experience and provide increased opportunities for educating about wolves and the value of their role in our environment.
Wolf Park is in the initial planning phases of a capital project that will include educational space named in honor of Sutz. “On behalf of future Wolf Park visitors of all ages, I wholeheartedly thank Eileen for thinking of the future of wild wolves and planning for how she can support their conservation for years to come,” Executive Director Karah Rawlings said. “Eileen’s legacy will have a permanent impact on the future of Wolf Park, and will allow us to continue to educate many generations about the importance of our vision to Save Wolves, Save Wilderness.”
Contacts:
Yellowstone Forever
Sam Barkley
Chief Development Officer
Phone: 406-848-2400
Email: sbarkley@yellowstone.org
Website: www.yellowstone.org
International Wolf Center
Grant Spickelmier
Executive Director
Phone: 763-233-7132
Email: grant@wolf.org
Website: www.wolf.org
Wolf Park
Karah Rawlings
Executive Director
Phone: 765-714-5291
Email: Karah@wolfpark.org
Website : www.wolfpark.org
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Krista Harrington
International Wolf Center
Address: 1396 Highway 169, Ely, MN 55731
Phone: 218-365-4695
Email: wolfcareauction@wolf.org
International Wolf Center has kicked off its 10th Annual Wolf Care Auction.
Ely, MN – The International Wolf Center is pleased to announce the opening of its 10th Annual Wolf Care Auction. The auction features a variety of artisan-made wolf-themed art, collectibles, photography, and the most sought-after items, knitted items containing wolf-shed fur from the Center’s ambassador wolves. The auction began on February 26 at 8 a.m. CDT and will end at noon CDT on Sunday, March 10, 2024.
The auction includes several items made by staff, such as Lino cut prints by Wolf Care Assistant Curator Abby Keller and hand-knit wrist warmers by Member Relations Manager Manisha Nordine.
“Our Wolf Care Auction provides a unique opportunity for individuals to support the Center’s mission to promote wolf education,” said Interpretive Center Director Krista Woerheidi. “All proceeds from the auction will support the exceptional care of the ambassador wolves provided daily by the wolf care staff.”
To place your bids, you will need to create an account first. A short video on how to use ClickBid is available on the International Wolf Center’s website. Please note that regulations covering wolf-shed items vary among states based on the protective status of wolves. State regulations prohibit the International Wolf Center from shipping these items to the following states: CA, CO, FL, IL, NE, NM, NY, VA, and WA. If you bid on an item containing wolf hair and reside in one of these states, your bid will be canceled.
The International Wolf Center is a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to advance the survival of wolf populations by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands, and the human role in their future.
For more information, please contact the International Wolf Center at wolfcareauction@wolf.org.
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For immediate release
Contact: Grant Spickelmier, executive director
Email: grant@wolf.org
Phone: 763-233-7132
Special event on wolves is May 24 in Ely
International Wolf Center plans unique presentation to commemorate its 30 years in Ely
A special event is planned in Ely to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the grand opening of the International Wolf Center. The event will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 24, at the State Theater in Ely.
After an introduction by the Center’s Executive Director, Grant Spickelmier, a reporter and photographer from the Star Tribune will share findings and information from a key series they worked on together in 2022 called State of Wolves. The work by Greg Stanley and Anthony Souffle was published by the Star Tribune as a special section and shared information about the natural and cultural history of wolves in Minnesota. Following their presentation, they’ll be joined on stage by the Center’s founder, Dr. L. David Mech, who will discuss his research in northern Minnesota and how that work led to the creation of the International Wolf Center.
“We’re so excited to have this great program in Ely,” Spickelmier said. “I’ve seen the presentation from Anthony and Greg and it really highlights the special place that wolves occupy in Minnesota and Ely and the unique group of people that work with and study them. The story of how the International Wolf Center came to be, which Dave will talk about, is a fascinating one. Together, the two presentations will be both interesting and informative. We really hope we can fill the theater for this special event.”
The event is free, but pre-registration is required and seating is limited.
To register, visit bit.ly/stateofwolves.
The International Wolf Center was founded in 1985, and its interpretive center opened in Ely in 1993. Nearly 40,000 people per year visit the Center. In April 2017, the Center celebrated its one millionth visitor.
“During these 30 great years, we’ve welcomed people from all over the world into the Center,” said Interpretive Center Director Krista Woerheide. “We’re proud to be located in Ely and look forward to attracting even more visitors in the years to come.”
For immediate release
Contact: Krista Woerheide
Email: krista@wolf.org
Phone: (218) 504-5173
Lucas Paschal will work with Voyageurs Wolf Project upon graduation from college
The winner of the 2023 Dr. L. David Mech Fellowship is Lucas Paschal, a student at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. The fellowship, awarded by the International Wolf Center, comes with up to $10,000 in funding to be used to further research about wolves.
Paschal will be partnering with the Voyageurs Wolf Project in northern Minnesota.
Dr. Mech founded the International Wolf Center in 1985 and is one of the world’s pre-eminent wildlife biologists. The fellowships are a way to honor Dr. Mech’s legacy and help the next generation of wildlife biologists get started in their careers.
Paschal learned he was the winner in late March during a phone call with Krista Woerheide, the Interpretive Center Director at the International Wolf Center.
“I was ecstatic to hear the news,” he said. “Thankfully I was with close friends at the time and was able to share my excitement with them.”
Woerheide said Paschal was chosen in part because of his clear passion for wildlife.
“Lucas really stood out in his application and letter of support because his passion for science and ecology was easy to see,” she said. “We can’t wait to see the results of his work with the Voyageurs Wolf Project, and we’re honored to play a part in getting his career started.”
Paschal said he has long had an interest in learning more about predators.
“This fellowship will help me reach my dream of studying large predators,” he said. “I think it’s hard to deny that large predators are very charismatic creatures, especially wolves. These animals demand a lot of attention from the public eye, and it seems like most of it is negative. I want to work with these animals to do as much as I can to protect them.
This is the second year that the fellowship has been awarded. Winners in 2022 were Lily Heinzel from Cornell College in Iowa and Cameron Ho from the University of Washington. The International Wolf Center offers the fellowship because it believes that continued investment in scientific discovery about wolves and other wildlife will lead to increased understanding of how to build a future where wolves and humans can coexist and thrive. The Center also understands that many barriers exist for students and early career researchers and hope these fellowships can be useful tools for opening up access to people pursuing a wildlife biology career.
“We’re really excited to see the partnership develop between Lucas and Voyageurs Wolf Project,” said the Center’s Executive Director, Grant Spickelmier. “It’s important to point out that these fellowships are funded by donations from our members, and we thank them for their financial support.”
Paschal is a senior at Hamline and will graduate this spring with three majors – Biology, Environmental Studies and History.
He will receive a $6,000 stipend and up to $4,000 in support for field research expenses.
His hometown is Macon, Georgia, and he’s a 2018 graduate of Veterans High School in Kathleen, Georgia. His parents are Roderick and Michele Paschal.
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The International Wolf Center advances the survival of wolf populations by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands and the human role in their future. For more information about the International Wolf Center, visit wolf.org.
Contact: Chad Richardson
Email: chad@wolf.org
Phone: 763-233-7138
New wolf curator hired at International Wolf Center
Center’s longtime curator to remain on staff to assist with the transition
A new wolf curator in training has joined the staff at the International Wolf Center. The hire was announced by the Center’s current Wolf Curator, Lori Schmidt.
Giselle Narvaez Rivera began work at the Center on Jan. 23.
Schmidt will remain on staff, full-time, throughout the year to help with the transition and training period.
While this role is new for Narvaez Rivera, she is not new at the Center.
Schmidt and Narvaez Rivera first met in 2014 when Narvaez Rivera was a wolf ethology student at the Center.
“While graduate school opportunities led her down a different path, her passion for wolves and the Center’s educational mission remained strong,” Schmidt said. “In the short time she has been employed, we already have some positive greetings from the wolves through the fence. The process of integrating into the pack and gaining the wolves’ trust will take several months.”
From 2013-2019, Narvaez Rivera was a research assistant for the Monkey Bridge Project, conducting, analyzing and interpreting primate behavior. She was also an animal caretaker in 2013 and 2015 at the Jaguar Rescue Center in Costa Rica, where she gained diverse, hands-on experience in animal care. Narvaez Rivera has extensive teaching experience creating curricular content, advising and mentoring undergraduate students and fostering students’ commitment to lifelong learning.
Narvaez Rivera earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Ecology in 2015 and her Masters of Arts in Biological Anthropology in 2017 from Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. Her Master’s thesis involved assessing conflict resolution between residents in Gandoca, Costa Rica, and three neotropical primates.
Among many other awards, she is the recipient of the 2019 Andrews Fellowship and the Environmental Research Award from Purdue University, where she was pursuing her PhD in Anthropology. She is fluent in English and Spanish and has a strong understanding of cultural diversity.
The International Wolf Center advances the survival of wolf populations by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands and the human role in their future. For more information about the Center, visit wolf.org.
Newest pups will be part of programs starting around June 3
Contact information:
Chad Richardson, Communications Director, International Wolf Center
Email: chad@wolf.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – The International Wolf Center is adding two pups to its Exhibit Pack in 2022. The pups arrived at the Center on Tuesday, May 10.
The 2022 pups will be visible to the public starting on approximately Friday, June 3.
The Center believes in wolf education, and one method for accomplishing the Center’s mission of advancing survival of wolf populations in the wild is through the use of ambassador wolves.
“These ambassador wolves allow us to teach thousands of people a year about the real behavior of wolves,” said Lori Schmidt, the Center’s wolf curator. “The Exhibit Pack is also a key part of the online programs we offer to schools across the world. These ambassadors are a key part of our aim to teach the world about wolves.”
The Center planned to add pups in 2020, but the Covid-19 pandemic forced the Center to delay those plans for one year. In 2021, the Center planned to add two pups, but was able to obtain just one pup. Adding pups this year was important for the health of the pack, and to allow our yearling wolf Rieka to experience some pup behavior she lacked as a singleton, Schmidt said.
“So often people portray wolves for their predatory behavior and don’t appreciate the intricate pack life and social organization that keeps them together as a social unit,” she said. “As curator, it is my job to maintain a socially cohesive unit of wolves in the exhibit, and we recognize that to do this, new life must be added to the exhibit.”
The International Wolf Center is a non-breeding exhibit, so when pups are added, we coordinate with another professional animal organization. The source is dependent upon reproductive plans within their facility and availability and the Center always acquires captive-born pups.
The 2022 pups were acquired from a USDA regulated facility in Minnesota. They will join three wolves in the Exhibit Pack, including Axel (6), Grayson (6) and Rieka (who turns 1 on May 23).
How do you see the pups?
One way for visitors to see the pups is through an outdoor viewing area adjacent to the wolf yard, where pups will be spending time conditioning to the human component of a public exhibit. These programs are dependent on the weather. They last 15-minutes each and are held throughout the day.
“We will do our best to accommodate everyone, but safety of our guests, our staff and the wolves is paramount,” said the Interpretive Center Director, Krista Woerheide.
Another way to see the 2022 wolf pups is with a one-hour behind the scenes tour. These tours are only available for members of the International Wolf Center. Information about membership is available at wolf.org.
What will their names be?
The International Wolf Center will conduct a pup naming contest beginning in early June and announce the names at a special virtual fundraising event on June 14.
Advance tickets are available for purchase
Everyone who wants to guarantee themselves a chance to see the pups should get an advance admission ticket. To get your tickets, click the Book Now button on the lower right-hand side of the page at wolf.org. For members of the Center, entrance tickets are free. It is recommended that members also book their tickets in advance.
The International Wolf Center advances the survival of wolf populations by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands and the human role in their future. For more information about the International Wolf Center, visit wolf.org.
The International Wolf Center is excited to announce the first two winners of the Dr. L. David Mech Fellowships. They are Lily Heinzel and Cameron Ho.
Both students will receive a $6,000 stipend and up to $4,000 in support for field research expenses. The International Wolf Center, which Mech founded in 1985, funds the fellowships.
Heinzel is a senior at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Ho graduated from the University of Washington in June 2021.
“We were thrilled at the quality of applicants,” said the Center’s Executive Director, Grant Spickelmier. “With this being the first year for the fellowships, we didn’t know what to expect. It was hard for the selection committee to narrow down the field and choose just two candidates, but we felt like Lily and Cameron both stood out. We are excited to be able to support their development as biologists.”
“It is so satisfying to know that these fellowships will help well-deserving students supplement their academic training with valuable field work on wolves and thus foster the preparations for their careers,” stated Mech.
Heinzel isn’t her first family member to have a tie to wolf research and Dr. Mech. Her grandfather, Richard Reichle, worked with Dr. Mech at the University of Minnesota’s Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve on one of his early telemetry projects.
“I feel so honored to represent my family, women, and inspired young scientists with the research this Fellowship will fund,” she said. “I have been working towards this point since high school when I read my grandfather Richard’s copy of The Arctic Wolf: Living with the Pack by Dave Mech.”
Heinzel said she will use the funding to study conservation genetics research on wolves in the Great Lakes region (Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan).
“I will be working in Dr. Kristin Brzeski’s lab at Michigan Technological University using genetic sequencing to estimate baseline genetic variation, ancestry, relatedness, inbreeding, and gene flow of gray wolves,” she said. “My statistics degree will come in handy when the genotyping is complete and RStudio is used to analyze the data for peer-reviewed publication. It is important to establish a baseline of regional gray wolf population structure and genetic health prior to any new management action in the state of Michigan.”
The mission of the International Wolf Center is to advance the survival of wolf populations by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands and the human role in their future. Since the Center’s founding in 1985 by Dr. Mech and others, it has sought to provide the latest scientific information about wolves to our members, visitors, program participants and the general public.
Mech is a Senior Research Scientist with the Biological Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, and Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at the University of Minnesota. He has studied wolves and their prey since 1958, as well as several other species of wildlife.
Contact: Grant Spickelmier, Executive Director
Office: 763-233-7132
grant@wolf.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Grizzer, an ambassador wolf at the International Wolf Center in Ely, Minnesota, was euthanized Thursday, Jan. 27.
Grizzer was more than 17 ½ years old and was the Center’s oldest wolf in its 30 years of having an ambassador pack. He and his packmates at the Center have educated over half a million visitors at the Center’s exhibit in Ely and countless more online through regular YouTube videos, wolf logs and webcams.
Many of those webcam visitors watched along as Grizzer would race around the enclosure doing what later became known as the Grizzer 500.
“We’re all so sad today,” said Grant Spickemier, the Center’s executive director. “Grizzer meant so much to so many of us and to so many people around the world. Watching him encourage his retirement packmates to race around the enclosure with him during those Grizzer 500s was inspiring to all of us.”
The decision to euthanize him came after a consultation with the Center’s trusted veterinarian in Ely. His condition began to decline on Jan. 26 when wolf care staff observed him having troubles. He was brought into the wolf care building and the veterinarian was called to begin monitoring him. Blood samples were taken and IV fluids and antibiotics were administered. A portable x-ray machine from the nearby Vermilion Community College veterinary technician program was brought in for chest and abdominal x-rays, but nothing significant was found.
Wolf Curator, Lori Schmidt stated “In between the vet exams, diagnostic testing and treatments, some of Grizzer’s trusted wolf care team members spent the day keeping him comfortable in the wolf care center. The special bond that is formed during the neonate pup socialization stage has the most value on the last days of an animal’s life.”
Despite some hopeful moments where Grizzer ate a pound of beef and took meds early on the morning of January 27, his decline and more obvious indication of distress prompted the decision to euthanize him at approximately 7:40 a.m.
Grizzer joined the Center’s ambassador pack in 2004 with his littermate Maya. He was moved to the retirement pack in 2011 after her tragic death. He had lost confidence in his status and without the dominance of his littermate, he couldn’t compete with the younger packmates.
While he was in retirement, Grizzer saw several wolves share the enclosure with him, including Denali, Luna and Aidan, as well as Boltz in a neighboring retirement enclosure. He was also engaged with the Center’s 2021 pup, Rieka, often interacting with her through the fence that separates the Exhibit Pack from the Retirement Pack.
To learn more about Grizzer’s condition, he was transported to the Ely Veterinary Clinic for a necropsy performed by Dr. Kristine Woerheide. Those results will further educate staff as the Center continues to manage the three remaining ambassador wolves at the Center’s facility in Ely.
The International Wolf Center advances the survival of wolf populations by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands and the human role in their future. For more information about the International Wolf Center, visit wolf.org.
