When Debbie Hinchcliffe and Jerry Sanders went on a trip to the Arctic with famed biologist L. David Mech in 1988, it was to learn more about the origins of their own pet dogs, a German shepherd and an Alaskan malamute.

“That once-in-a-lifetime trip turned into a total of 10 trips to the Arctic and many trips to Yellowstone National Park to continue to learn about wolves,” Hinchcliffe said.

That learning brought them to the International Wolf Center, in Ely, Minnesota. The nonprofit organization’s mission is to “advance the survival of wolf populations by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands, and the human role in their future.”

The pair, both retired high school teachers living in Fairwater, are now on the board of directors of the International Wolf Center. They will bring their knowledge of wolves to Mirror Lake State Park at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Presented by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the program is free and will be at the Mirror Lake State Park Ampitheater, located at E10320 Fern Dell Road.

“Wolves are a fascinating animal,” Hinchcliffe said. “It is so amazing to witness the pack dynamics that wolves display,”

The program at Mirror Lake State Park will include video footage from Yellowstone, as well as many artifacts that will compare wolves to coyotes, foxes, and bears.

“We would like to clear up the fact that people think wolves are very dangerous to humans,” Hinchcliffe said. Also, she wants the audience to know that wolf packs are family units and not, as she said, “a gang of wolves.”

Wolves are beneficial to wild environments. They keep prey populations in check, keeping them from overpopulating an environment that might cause excessive damage.

Hinchcliffe estimates that there are 1,000 wolves that live in Wisconsin.

While state law mandates a wolf season, a federal judge last year restored endangered species protections for gray wolves across most of the country, including Wisconsin. The decision prohibits hunting wolves.

“We need to protect wild lands,” Hinchcliffe said. “This would be beneficial to all species, not just wolves.”