WASHINGTON D.C. - The game goes like this: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determines through careful analysis of population changes and discussions with various state agencies that gray (timber) wolves can be de-listed from federal protection without fear of extinction.
Next, the Humane Society of the United States and the usual posse of animal rights organizations mount up and storm the chambers of a sympathetic judge to take umbrage. They typically choose Washington - why not get as far away from reality as possible - to file their protest.
We've been there before to the point where the administrations of both Bush and Obama have determined that the wolf can survive under state management. Now, as in 2008, the courts have ruled in favor of the HSUS, reversing the decision to de-list.
Somewhere between 4,000 and 5,000 wolves live in the three-state area of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan. The latest estimates for Wisconsin range from 626-662, a 15 percent increase from 2008, according to DNR wolf biologist Adrian Wydeven.
The DNR reports there are 162 wolf packs in Wisconsin, as defined by at least two adult wolfs each. Twenty-three packs roam across central Wisconsin while 139 packs reside in northern Wisconsin. At least 47 of these contained five or more animals.
De-listing means that state wildlife managers can trap and euthanize wolves that prey on livestock and establish rules for conducting a wolf hunt at some point in the future. Currently, landowners may receive permits to shoot wolves under very limited conditions.
Increased cost, lost revenue!
Wolf damage payments to livestock producers and pet owners have continued to rise as the wolf population increases. Wolves are becoming more common throughout Wisconsin, having been observed in all 72 counties.
In 2008, the DNR paid out more than $136,000 in wolf damage payments, up from approximately $69,000 in 2007. Since damage payments began in 1985, the owners of more than 1,000 animals have been compensated for their losses. Most were livestock, including cows, calves, sheep, chickens, horses and, according to DNR statistics, one llama.
Even if de-listed, a five-year moratorium on a wolf hunting season remains in effect. As a result, we can expect even higher costs of damage payments as the wolf population expands while suffering the loss of potential revenue from hunting permits.
There are other problems with the moratorium, according to Marcus Bresee of Fennimore. A member of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress wolf committee, Bresee cites the need for more information in order to get a better handle on wolf numbers, their reproductive habits and the health of the population.
Rules regarding a wolf hunt would be structured similar to the current protocol for bobcat, fisher and otter, Bresee notes. The DNR may require that a bobcat carcass, for example, be turned over to the agency to assist in studies regarding age, sex, size, genetics and general health.
The Wisconsin legislature would need to pass a bill allowing the DNR to restrict participation in a wolf harvest as well as restrict areas where harvest would be allowed. This legislation might also allow the application fees to go toward wolf research and management.
The DNR's Wolf Management Committee recommends that any public harvest in Wisconsin be coordinated with Michigan and Minnesota because the region's gray wolf population functions as a distinct population.
The committee also recommends against a specific population goal, but agrees that the over-winter population should remain at approximately 500 wolves, plus or minus 25 percent.
Wolves once roamed the entire state but by 1960 had disappeared from the Wisconsin landscape, leaving only Minnesota and Isle Royale in Michigan with the only known wolf populations in the lower 48 states.
By the mid-1970s, however, a few wolves had migrated back into northern Wisconsin from Minnesota. The DNR established a wolf recovery program in 1989 with a recovery goal for the state of 80 wolves. The goal was revised in 1999 to 350 animals outside of Indian reservations.
Even if de-listed, the gray wolf remains a protected animal and random shooting of the animal could result in heavy fines and loss of hunting privileges. While sometimes mistaken for a coyote, there are several differences.
A wolf is roughly twice the size of a coyote, has large feet, a large head with cheek hair tufts and a black tipped tail. The average weight of an adult male is 75 pounds.
-Lee Fahrney is the Monroe Times outdoors writer. He can be contacted at (608) 967-2208 or fiveoaks@mhtc.net.
Next, the Humane Society of the United States and the usual posse of animal rights organizations mount up and storm the chambers of a sympathetic judge to take umbrage. They typically choose Washington - why not get as far away from reality as possible - to file their protest.
We've been there before to the point where the administrations of both Bush and Obama have determined that the wolf can survive under state management. Now, as in 2008, the courts have ruled in favor of the HSUS, reversing the decision to de-list.
Somewhere between 4,000 and 5,000 wolves live in the three-state area of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan. The latest estimates for Wisconsin range from 626-662, a 15 percent increase from 2008, according to DNR wolf biologist Adrian Wydeven.
The DNR reports there are 162 wolf packs in Wisconsin, as defined by at least two adult wolfs each. Twenty-three packs roam across central Wisconsin while 139 packs reside in northern Wisconsin. At least 47 of these contained five or more animals.
De-listing means that state wildlife managers can trap and euthanize wolves that prey on livestock and establish rules for conducting a wolf hunt at some point in the future. Currently, landowners may receive permits to shoot wolves under very limited conditions.
Increased cost, lost revenue!
Wolf damage payments to livestock producers and pet owners have continued to rise as the wolf population increases. Wolves are becoming more common throughout Wisconsin, having been observed in all 72 counties.
In 2008, the DNR paid out more than $136,000 in wolf damage payments, up from approximately $69,000 in 2007. Since damage payments began in 1985, the owners of more than 1,000 animals have been compensated for their losses. Most were livestock, including cows, calves, sheep, chickens, horses and, according to DNR statistics, one llama.
Even if de-listed, a five-year moratorium on a wolf hunting season remains in effect. As a result, we can expect even higher costs of damage payments as the wolf population expands while suffering the loss of potential revenue from hunting permits.
There are other problems with the moratorium, according to Marcus Bresee of Fennimore. A member of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress wolf committee, Bresee cites the need for more information in order to get a better handle on wolf numbers, their reproductive habits and the health of the population.
Rules regarding a wolf hunt would be structured similar to the current protocol for bobcat, fisher and otter, Bresee notes. The DNR may require that a bobcat carcass, for example, be turned over to the agency to assist in studies regarding age, sex, size, genetics and general health.
The Wisconsin legislature would need to pass a bill allowing the DNR to restrict participation in a wolf harvest as well as restrict areas where harvest would be allowed. This legislation might also allow the application fees to go toward wolf research and management.
The DNR's Wolf Management Committee recommends that any public harvest in Wisconsin be coordinated with Michigan and Minnesota because the region's gray wolf population functions as a distinct population.
The committee also recommends against a specific population goal, but agrees that the over-winter population should remain at approximately 500 wolves, plus or minus 25 percent.
Wolves once roamed the entire state but by 1960 had disappeared from the Wisconsin landscape, leaving only Minnesota and Isle Royale in Michigan with the only known wolf populations in the lower 48 states.
By the mid-1970s, however, a few wolves had migrated back into northern Wisconsin from Minnesota. The DNR established a wolf recovery program in 1989 with a recovery goal for the state of 80 wolves. The goal was revised in 1999 to 350 animals outside of Indian reservations.
Even if de-listed, the gray wolf remains a protected animal and random shooting of the animal could result in heavy fines and loss of hunting privileges. While sometimes mistaken for a coyote, there are several differences.
A wolf is roughly twice the size of a coyote, has large feet, a large head with cheek hair tufts and a black tipped tail. The average weight of an adult male is 75 pounds.
-Lee Fahrney is the Monroe Times outdoors writer. He can be contacted at (608) 967-2208 or fiveoaks@mhtc.net.
