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International Wolf Center funding to bring "WOW factor" to Ely facility

June 4, 2007

The International Wolf Center recently received a $350,000 state allocation to upgrade its Ely facilities when the U.S. Forest Services (USFS) leaves the building later this year.

The Center's Ely educational headquarters is managed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and is shared with the USFS Boundary Waters Permit Station, which is moving to a new location in the fall.

The funds will enable the Center to convert the USFS space to attract new and former visitors who want learn about wolves and experience the "WOW factor" of a big-screen introduction to the Center, according to Walter Medwid, Center executive director. The renovation, planned for this winter, will include a visitor orientation theater, innovative combined exhibit and retail areas and a friendly new use of space inside the building's entrance.

The funds are allocated in the state's Omnibus Environment, Natural Resources, Energy and Commerce Appropriation Bill, part of the 2007-08 Minnesota budget, signed May 8 by Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

"We owe a sincere thank you to Sen. Tom Bakk and Rep. David Dill, who saw our need, sponsored the bill and supported the Center's efforts as the legislation worked its way through the House and Senate," Medwid said. The Ely Community Economic Development Joint Powers Board provided a successful launching pad for the project in Ely.

The Center "teaches the world about wolves," with more than 10,000 members in 50 states and 37 countries. The organization recently received national and regional awards for its well-balanced educational efforts, contributing to the human acceptance of wolf populations in the Midwest and leading to the recent delisting of the species there from the endangered species list.

The Center welcomes about 45,000 visitors in Ely a year to view exhibits, dynamic educational programs and the activities of a resident wolf pack. The organization reaches out nationally and internationally through live distance learning programs, educator workshops, a quarterly magazine, adventure programs, international symposia and its site at www.wolf.org. The Center generates about over $3 million annually toward the economic health of the Ely area.

Founded in 1985, the International Wolf Center is a nonprofit educational organization that advances the survival of wolf populations around the world by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands and the human role in their future. The Center pursues this mission through educational initiatives that include a membership program, learning vacations, an interpretive center in Northern Minnesota, international conferences, youth outreach programs, teacher education resources and workshops, a quarterly magazine and a Web site, www.wolf.org.