Wisconsin wildlife officials to vote new on wolf management plan with no population goal

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin wildlife officials were expected to vote Wednesday on a contentious new wolf management plan that doesn’t include a specific population goal despite demands from hunters and farmers to establish a hard cap on the number of animals that can be killed.

The Department of Natural Resources’ policy board was scheduled to vote on the plan after taking public comments on the proposal. Comments began just before 10 a.m. and people were still lined up to speak as the board broke for lunch a little after noon.

Wolf management has become one of the fiercest policy debates in Wisconsin hunting circles as the population has grown over the last three decades. Farmers in northern Wisconsin have long complained that wolves are preying on their livestock and hunters believe the animals are devastating the deer population in the northern reaches of the state. Conservationists, meanwhile, say wolves haven’t firmly established themselves in the state and should be protected.

The DNR adopted a wolf management plan in 1999 that called for capping the population at 350 wolves. The latest DNR estimates, however, indicate the population currently stands at around 1,000 wolves.

With the population growing, Republican legislators in 2011 passed a law requiring the DNR to hold an annual wolf hunting season. Hunters and farmers have pointed to the 350-wolf limit as justification for setting high kill quotas, angering animal rights activists.

A federal judge last year placed gray wolves in the lower 48 states back on the endangered species list, making hunting illegal and limiting farmers to nonlethal control methods, such as fencing in livestock or using guard dogs. The DNR has been working on an updated wolf management plan in case wolves are removed from the list and hunting resumes.

The new plan recommends a statewide population of about 1,000 animals but doesn’t set a hard limit on the population. Instead, the plan recommends allowing the population to grow or decline at certain numerical thresholds. DNR officials insist the plan creates flexibility in dealing with local packs, allowing for more hunting pressure in areas overpopulated with wolves.

The proposal has met with sharp criticism from farmers and hunters who want to see a specific statewide population goal. The Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, the largest farmers association in the state, has called for maintaining the 350-wolf cap and Republican lawmakers are advancing a bill that would force the DNR to insert a specific number in the plan.

Republicans who control the state Senate on Oct. 17 refused to confirm four members of the DNR board who said they supported the new management plan, removing them from the board. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers named four replacements the same day.

The debate played out ahead of the board vote, with people lining up to voice support or opposition for the plan.

Alex Mardosky, associate director of the Nature Conservancy in Wisconsin, called the plan “exceptional.” He praised the DNR for moving toward a flexible management approach, calling a hard population goal “a really blunt instrument.” He recommended the DNR set a zero quota if hunting resumes.

Ed Harvey of the Conservation Congress, a group of influential sportsmen who advise the DNR, said the organization doesn’t think the plan should keep the 350-wolf goal. He complained that the department hasn’t given enough weight to the opinions of people who live among wolves. But Paul Collins, Wisconsin state director of Animal Wellness Action, said the department only listened to pro-hunting groups when developing the plan.

Patrick Quaintance, of Bayfield, said he’s seen the remains of calves killed by wolves on farms around his property and has taken photos of wolves in broad daylight. “I don’t feel safe walking my dog or turning my dog loose on my property,” he said. “Let’s keep this in perspective. People are having problems with wolves.”

There has never been a documented wolf attack on a human in Wisconsin, according to the DNR. Wolves typically prey on old, young, sick or otherwise weakened animals, although the department has said that wolves could start acting more aggressively toward people as they become habituated to them.

Fred Clark, executive director of conservation group Wisconsin’s Green Fire, said his group supports the plan and that the 350-wolf goal in 1999 means nothing because scientists have had 24 years to learn more about wolves. He said the plan will help persuade federal wildlife officials that they can hand wolf management back to the states in good conscience.