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In Wisconsin, 34 county boards have passed advisory resolutions
supporting state wolf population management [the pink shaded
counties on the map to the right]. Over the past ten years, the wolf
population has grown exponentially in these Northern Wisconsin
counties. The farms that need pasture for their herds up here, including
organic, grass-fed farms, are targeted by the wolf population, which
puts these farms in jeopardy.
Mark E. Liebaert,
Douglas County Board Chair
–Danielle Kaeding, Reporter, Wisconsin Public Radio
northern Wisconsin congressman
is among a group of bipartisan
lawmakers pushing to delist
gray wolves from the federal
Endangered Species list.
Wisconsin congressional representatives
are pushing to return management to
the states for the third year in a row with
a bill introduced early this year.
U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy said Wisconsin
and other states should be able to
manage the growing wolf population
in a way that allows farmers to protect
their herds.
“This is not being done so there
can be a wolf hunt,” Duffy said. “This
delisting is so farmers can protect their
livestock.”
Jack Johnson, a director with the
North Central Wisconsin Cattlemen’s
Association, said he supports any effort
to delist the wolf.
“The state could start managing
them and get a little control over the
numbers, because right (now) they’re
expanding more than we’ve got room
for them,” Johnson said.
Former U.S. Rep. Reid Ribble
introduced such a bill the last two years.
A federal judge ruled in December
2014 that the gray wolf should be
relisted as an endangered species in the
western Great Lakes region. Since then,
the population has grown to a minimum
of 866 wolves in the state, said Dave
MacFarland, large carnivore specialist
with the Wisconsin Department of
Natural Resources. He said 31 farms
experienced wolf depredation or
harassment in 2016 compared to the 35
farms in 2015.
“Prior to delisting, (livestock) conflict
levels were higher depending on the
metrics that you look at, and we were
successful in bringing those conflicts
down through the management actions
that were taken,” MacFarland said. “We
have seen a little bit of an uptick, but
we’re still not to the levels that we were
prior to the delisting in 2012.”
The state spent $200,505 in wolf
damage payments to those who
lost animals or livestock in 2015.
MacFarland said the state is organizing
claims from 2016.
“Given the number of dogs that
were killed, the significant increase in
the compensation payments related to
continues
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Timber wolves © Jim Cumming | Dreamstime.com
“I’ve heard from farmers, sportsmen and wildlife
experts and they all agree.The wolf has recovered
and we must return its management back to
the state of Wisconsin, both for the safety and
economic well-being of Wisconsinites and the
balance of our environment.”
U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin
for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
CURRENT POPULATION OF GRAY
WOLVES IN UNITED STATES
Source: United States Fish & Wildlife Service, Gray Wolf
Endangered Species Act Status
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hunting dogs, that is likely to drive an increase
in the total amount of compensation,”
MacFarland said. “But, we don’t know quite
yet where that will fall.”
Laurie Groskopf, who lives just east of
Tomahawk, said some cases of wolf conflicts
are not always reflected in official records.
“I personally have lost a hunting dog. I
also have neighbors and friends and relatives
who have had their pets attacked, who have
had livestock depredations,” Groskopf said.
Wolf advocates remain opposed to placing
the wolf back under state management.
Blogger Rachel Tilseth, founder of
the website Wolves of Douglas County
Wisconsin, said they have little faith in the
state.
“Because apparently management of
wolves means a wolf hunt,” Tilseth said.
“For them, the only way that they feel they
can manage them is through the hunting,
trapping, and barbaric use of dogs.”
Wisconsin enacted a wolf hunt in 2012,
but wolf harvests have been banned as
CHANGES IN GRAY WOLF POPULATION
IN WISCONSIN: 1980-2016
866
# of wolves
704
25
1974
1980
34
1990
Gray wolf first listed as endangered
in the lower 48 states.
a result of the endangered designation.
Melissa Smith, executive director of Friends
of the Wisconsin Wolf and Wildlife, argued
wolf depredation is a “nonissue” in most of
the western Great Lakes, especially when
comparing the number of depredations to
the number of livestock in Wisconsin.
“It’s certainly an issue if you’re one small
farmer, but there are many ways to help,”
Smith said. “There are many NGO’s, the
state of Wisconsin can implement plans,
there’s fencing things you can do. But, we
could support lethal removal of a wolf that’s
proven to take livestock when nonlethal
methods fail.”
Smith also criticized the state’s wolf
management plan, which was created in 1999
248
2000
2010
2016
Source: Wisconsin Gray Wolf Monitoring Report, Bureau
of Wildlife Management, Wisconsin Department of
Natural Resources
and re-approved by the Wisconsin Natural
Resources Board in 2007.
“Our state has decided that we should have
350 wolves or less based on a management
plan that is over 16 years old,” she said. “In
fact, they took updating the plan off the
docket waiting for delisting status.”
MacFarland said the DNR wants to base
any revision of its wolf management plan on
the most current information possible.
“By waiting to see how this situation on
the ground changes, it will to allow us to have
the most current plan possible when we do
finalize it,” MacFarland said.
Peter David, wildlife biologist with
the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife
continues
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WOLF PACK RANGES
Probable wolf pack range, wolf mortalities,
verified and probable wolf depredations, and
verified probable and possible wolf observation reports in Wisconsin (April 2015-April 2016).
Source: Wisconsin Gray Wolf Monitoring Report, Bureau of
Wildlife Management, Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources.
Commission, said tribes are concerned about
the precedent that could be set with wolf
delisting legislation.
“There are real concerns about any effort
that undermines the Endangered Species Act if
we start cherry-picking,” David said.
Wisconsin tribes oppose a wolf hunt and did
not allow wolf hunting on reservations prior to
the relisting.
“The tribes in general have supported
maintaining wolves on the Endangered Species
Act because of the cultural significance of
wolves,” said David. “The tribes have felt those
30 April 2017
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types of protections are appropriate for wolves.”
State Republican lawmakers sent a letter
to Congress in November urging them to pass
legislation to delist the wolf. Congressman Duffy
said he’s confident a bill will pass this year.
“If this was an issue or an idea that was driven
based on party lines, I would be less optimistic,”
he said. “But, this is an issue that’s bipartisan,
where you have Republicans and Democrats
standing together. This is more of a regional
issue that is bringing concern.”
Printed with permission, this article first appeared on www.wpr.
com.
Big Question
WHO SHOULD CONTROL WISCONSIN’S WOLF POPULATION?
G
uests of the Joy Cardin Show weighed in on whether Wisconsin’s wolf
population should be managed by the state or remain federally protected as an endangered species. The show’s guests, Adrian Wydeven, Wolf Biologist and Coordinator of the Timber Wolf Alliance, and Dr. Adrian Teves
with the Carnivore Coexistence Lab, present both sides of this debate. You
can access the show by visiting the following url: bit.ly/wiwolfdebate.
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