Wolf management and our role in it

The DNR is asking for public comment on its draft of the proposed updated Wolf Management Plan. The comment period has been extended to February 28, 2023. Originally when the proposed update was released the comment period was set to close on January 10, 2023.

The short 60 day comment period and the release date put this proposed management plan in the crosshairs when it was released on November 9 even before anyone had read the title.

Normally a proposal like this undergoes a 90 day public comment period, not just a 60 day comment period, causing both the Conservation Congress and the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation to start pushing back against the process. Their reasoning beyond the short comment period was that public comments couldn’t be submitted via email or hard copy, only through the formatted Survey Monkey link from the DNR page.

Both groups felt that the multiple criteria to be addressed and supported with background data, the gun deer season, holidays, and the shortened comment period would make commenting in that time period difficult. Then there is the release date. After waiting for the plan to come out since January, and repeated delays, the proposed plan gets released the day after the gubernatorial election. Some saw some potential political motivation. Someone at the DNR has been listening and responded to the outcry since the comment period has been extended. The desire to use a formatted Survey Monkey response could just be that it streamlines the tabulation process for public comment. Once people started reading the plan a couple changes were noticed. One change being the elimination of a population goal for wolves and the other the expansion of “suitable” wolf range. A tremendous amount of information as to why the lack of a population goal could pose a problem has been published since the release. Plus a lot of public support for the current population goal of 350 wolves exists.

Citizens in 69 of 72 counties, in the last Conservation Congress’s Spring Hearing, voted in favor of the 350 wolf goal. The Wisconsin Farm Bureau and the Wisconsin Cattlemen’s Association favor 350 wolves or less. The Wisconsin Wildlife Federation supports the 350 wolf goal. And 36 Wisconsin county boards have passed resolutions supporting the 350 wolf goal.

Valid arguments exist as to why a population goal may not be the best road forward. One being that the current goal of 350 wolves has had little bearing on facilitating D-Listing of wolves or deterring federal judges 1800 miles away from relisting wolves on the Endangered Species List. All the while the actual wolf population is almost three times more than the current goal of 350.

Expanding the areas of the state that are considered suitable for wolf inhabitation by creating another classification of secondary wolf range has drawn scrutiny. And creating buffer zones around the tribal reservation lands where harvest will be or greatly reduced, if the harvest of wolves in Wisconsin will ever be allowed again.

Since few if any wolves live their entire lives on federal or state land, instead spending time on lands with more localized ownership, some organizations feel the opinions of those that live in wolf country should count more than that of someone from say Madison or Milwaukee. And some organizations suggest that agricultural interests were under represented on the committee charged to revise the Wolf Management Plan.

You can voice your feelings on this proposal by going to: https://dnr.wisconsin. gov/topic/wildlifehabitat/wolfmanagementplan and scrolling down to the “Online Comment Tool” link. You could also email your comments to an email listed on that page as well. The DNR is requesting that everyone read the full 168 page draft before commenting.

I don’t know where this will all end up and if anything will change. But after reading the whole plan I do know that not many on either side of the wolf debate are reading all 168 pages of this proposal. Think math textbook – sorry, honey.

Wolves will never leave our landscape. We need a plan to manage wolves returning to the state, so sometime between now and February 28, it would be wise for all of us to take the time to voice our thoughts on this proposal.

I hope 2022 was kind to you. My resolution is to get out more than I was able to in 2022, that’s it. I’m wishing you all good health and a happy and prosperous New Year!

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