A board leader calls the new Wisconsin wolf plan key to removing federal protections for the animal
1 year, 2 months ago

A board leader calls the new Wisconsin wolf plan key to removing federal protections for the animal

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — The leader of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources policy board signaled support Wednesday for the department’s contentious new wolf management plan even though the document lacks a hard population cap that hunters and farmers have demanded. Board Chairperson Bill Smith said during a meeting in Manitowish Waters that the plan shows the state is committed to maintaining a viable wolf population. “To me, it’s an absolute foundation piece in getting delisting, getting state authority of wolves and maintaining and sustaining a healthy program,” Smith said. Johnson said such a move would probably be seen as a “red flag” about the state’s commitment to maintaining a sustainable wolf population.

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History of this topic

Dutch provinces shoot down their own wolf management plan
2 weeks, 5 days ago

Dutch provinces shoot down their own wolf management plan

Dutch News  

Dutch provinces have shot down their own plan to introduce new guidelines about the management of wolves ahead of the vote on Thursday. BBB deputies in Gelderland, Groningen, Overijssel and Drenthe, and Friesland’s ChristenUnie deputy said “a clear framework” is missing from the plan. The BBB is in favour of shooting “problem wolves” but the plan, which was two years …

Animal welfare advocates file lawsuit challenging Wisconsin’s new wolf management plan
1 year, 1 month ago

Animal welfare advocates file lawsuit challenging Wisconsin’s new wolf management plan

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — Animal welfare advocates filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to invalidate Wisconsin’s new wolf management plan, accusing state wildlife officials of violating the state’s open meetings law and disregarding comments from wolf researchers and supporters. The lawsuit alleges that Department of Natural Resources policy board members collected comments on the plan from interest groups it favored even after …

Wisconsin DNR defends lack of population goal in wolf management plan
1 year, 3 months ago

Wisconsin DNR defends lack of population goal in wolf management plan

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin wildlife officials defended their decision not to set a hard cap on the state’s wolf population in their new management plan in front of a Republican-controlled legislative committee Thursday, saying a firm limit doesn’t reflect the complexities of wolf management. Randy Johnson, the Department of Natural Resources’ large carnivore specialist, told the state Senate’s sporting heritage …

Wisconsin officials add recommendations to new management plan to keep wolf population around 1,000
1 year, 4 months ago

Wisconsin officials add recommendations to new management plan to keep wolf population around 1,000

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin wildlife officials released a revised draft wolf management plan Tuesday that recommends holding the statewide population at around 1,000 animals, a concession to conservatives looking for a hard limit. The Department of Natural Resources adopted a wolf management plan in 1999 that calls for capping the statewide population at 350 wolves. The proposal didn’t include a …

Wisconsin officials add recommendations to new management plan to keep wolf population around 1,000
1 year, 4 months ago

Wisconsin officials add recommendations to new management plan to keep wolf population around 1,000

The Independent  

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DNR chief vows to bring wolf plan up for vote in October
1 year, 8 months ago

DNR chief vows to bring wolf plan up for vote in October

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ policy board will get a finalized wolf management plan in October, the agency’s leader said Wednesday. The DNR in November released a draft of its first new wolf management plan in almost 25 years. The draft erases the current 350-animal population goal, recommending instead that the department work with local advisory …

Wisconsin DNR releases 3,500 public comments on wolf plan
1 year, 8 months ago

Wisconsin DNR releases 3,500 public comments on wolf plan

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin wildlife officials on Friday released thousands of public comments on a new wolf management plan, some calling for the restoration of a statewide population limit and others urging a total hunting ban. “Establishing a population objective would provide DNR with a specific goal to point to as it makes decisions like setting annual harvest quotas and …

GOP legislators ready bill calling for wolf population goal
1 year, 9 months ago

GOP legislators ready bill calling for wolf population goal

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — A pair of Republican legislators circulated a bill Friday that would require Wisconsin wildlife officials to establish a new population goal for wolves in the state in their next management plan. Rob Stafsholt, of New Richmond, began circulating a bill for co-sponsorship on Friday that would require the DNR to include a statewide population goal in its …

Conservation groups sue over Montana wolf harvest rules
2 years, 1 month ago

Conservation groups sue over Montana wolf harvest rules

Associated Press  

— Two conservation groups have filed a lawsuit against the state of Montana and its wildlife management agency alleging it illegally set hunting and trapping policies and quotas intended to reduce the gray wolf population by making it easier to kill the predators. Montana’s Republican-controlled Legislature in 2021 passed bills that allowed the state to reduce the wolf population, authorize …

DNR: February 2021 hunt had little effect on wolf population
2 years, 2 months ago

DNR: February 2021 hunt had little effect on wolf population

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin wildlife officials estimate Wisconsin’s wolf population currently stands at about 970 animals, demonstrating that a much-maligned February 2021 hunting season had little impact on the population as a whole. Wisconsin Public Radio reported that Department of Natural Resources officials released their latest population estimates at the agency’s board meeting on Wednesday. Conservationists feared that a February …

DNR: No release date for new wolf management plan
2 years, 5 months ago

DNR: No release date for new wolf management plan

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin wildlife officials say they don’t know when they’ll release their new wolf management plan after initially saying the document would come out this spring. The Department of Natural Resources’ current wolf management plan dates back to 1999 and calls for capping the statewide population at 350 animals. The department has yet to put out anything and …

Minnesota releases updated draft gray wolf management plan
2 years, 6 months ago

Minnesota releases updated draft gray wolf management plan

Associated Press  

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota’s population of gray wolves is resilient and robust, wildlife managers said Thursday as they released a draft updated plan to keep it that way. “Wolf conservation is a high priority for the DNR and we expect this updated plan to help ensure Minnesota’s wolf population remains healthy,” Kelly Straka, the agency’s wildlife section manager, said …

A fight over wolves pits facts against feelings in Wisconsin
2 years, 6 months ago

A fight over wolves pits facts against feelings in Wisconsin

Salon  

Maybe it was the heat that afternoon in Madison, or maybe it was sheer exhaustion as the meeting approached its sixth hour. Then, this past February, a federal judge ruled that the Fish and Wildlife Service has not followed the "best available science" in delisting wolves, restoring federal protections to all wolves outside of the Northern Rockies. "They're taking a …

Wisconsin DNR defies board, reduces fall wolf quota
3 years, 2 months ago

Wisconsin DNR defies board, reduces fall wolf quota

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources officials on Monday dramatically scaled back the number of wolves hunters can kill during the state’s fall season in open defiance of its policy board. The move marked another clash between the DNR’s liberal-leaning administration and the conservative-leaning board, and it came after animal welfare advocates sued in state and federal court …

6 tribes sue Wisconsin to try to stop November wolf hunt
3 years, 3 months ago

6 tribes sue Wisconsin to try to stop November wolf hunt

Associated Press  

Six Native American tribes sued Wisconsin on Tuesday to try to stop its planned gray wolf hunt in November, asserting that the hunt violates their treaty rights and endangers an animal they consider sacred. The tribal lawsuit comes three weeks after a coalition of wildlife advocacy groups sued to stop Wisconsin’s wolf hunt this fall and void a state law …

Wildlife groups sue to stop Wisconsin wolf hunt
3 years, 3 months ago

Wildlife groups sue to stop Wisconsin wolf hunt

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — A coalition of wildlife advocacy groups filed a lawsuit Tuesday to stop Wisconsin’s wolf hunt this fall and invalidate a state law mandating annual hunts, arguing the statutes don’t give wildlife officials any leeway to consider population estimates. Scott Walker signed a law in 2011 requiring the DNR to hold an annual wolf hunt between November and …

Biden backs end to wolf protections but hunting worries grow
3 years, 4 months ago

Biden backs end to wolf protections but hunting worries grow

Associated Press  

FARIBAULT, Minn. — President Joe Biden’s administration is sticking by the decision under former President Donald Trump to lift protections for gray wolves across most of the U.S. But wolf management policies in place at the state level have shifted dramatically since protections were lifted, and Frazer suggested the federal government could take steps to restore protections if population declines …

EXPLAINER: What’s ahead for the Wisconsin wolf hunt
3 years, 4 months ago

EXPLAINER: What’s ahead for the Wisconsin wolf hunt

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin wildlife officials will allow state-licensed hunters to kill scores of wolves this fall despite conservationists’ plea s to end wolf hunting completely, after a spring season that saw hunters blow past their quota by almost 100 animals. But hunters killed at least 218 wolves in February, during the breeding season, raising questions about where the population …

Wisconsin sets 300-wolf limit after runaway spring hunt
3 years, 4 months ago

Wisconsin sets 300-wolf limit after runaway spring hunt

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — Wildlife officials in Wisconsin set a 300-animal limit Wednesday for the state’s fall wolf hunt, exceeding biologists’ recommendations as they study the impact of a rushed spring season that saw hunters take almost twice as many wolves as allotted. State Department of Natural Resources scientists asked its policy board to cap kills at 130 animals, saying board …

Wildlife officials propose 130-wolf limit for fall hunt
3 years, 4 months ago

Wildlife officials propose 130-wolf limit for fall hunt

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin wildlife officials are proposing limiting the number of wolves hunters can kill this fall to 130 animals, saying they want to take a conservative approach because the impact of a rushed February hunt on the population remains unclear. The DNR was preparing to hold a hunt beginning in November 2021 but a hunter advocacy group won …

Minnesota DNR: No wolf season until 2022 at soonest
3 years, 5 months ago

Minnesota DNR: No wolf season until 2022 at soonest

Associated Press  

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said Wednesday it won’t consider holding a wolf hunting or trapping season until 2022 at the earliest. “We will use our updated plan as we determine whether and how to use various management tools to ensure continuation of a healthy and sustainable wolf population in Minnesota,” the statement said. “Consideration …

DNR board starts wolf hunt revision process
3 years, 6 months ago

DNR board starts wolf hunt revision process

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — The Department of Natural Resources policy board started the process Wednesday of revising Wisconsin’s wolf hunt rules to potentially prohibit night hunting and shorten the window for registering kills after hunters blew past their quota in February. Specific changes won’t be on the official agenda, but DNR officials told the board in a memo earlier this month …

DNR considers ending night wolf hunt, shorter registrations
3 years, 7 months ago

DNR considers ending night wolf hunt, shorter registrations

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin wildlife officials are considering revising wolf regulations to prohibit night hunting and shorten the window for registering kills after hunters blew past their quota in February. State-licensed hunters killed 218 wolves in four days, blowing past their quota of 119 animals and forcing the DNR to end the season three days early. DNR officials said in …

US states look to step up wolf kills, pushed by Republicans
3 years, 9 months ago

US states look to step up wolf kills, pushed by Republicans

Associated Press  

— Payments for dead wolves. And in Wisconsin, just weeks after President Donald Trump’s administration lifted protections for wolves in the Great Lakes region, hunters using hounds and trappers blew past the state’s harvest goal and killed almost twice as many as planned. What’s emerging now is different: an increasingly politicized campaign to drive down wolf numbers sometimes using methods …

Wisconsin hunters exceed wolf target by nearly 100 animals
3 years, 9 months ago

Wisconsin hunters exceed wolf target by nearly 100 animals

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin hunters and trappers killed nearly double the number of wolves that the state allotted for a weeklong season, and they did it so quickly that officials ended the hunt after less than three days, according to figures released Thursday. “This week’s hunt proves that now, more than ever, gray wolves need federal protections restored to protect …

Hunters and trappers blow past Wisconsin’s wolf kill target
3 years, 9 months ago

Hunters and trappers blow past Wisconsin’s wolf kill target

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — Hunters and trappers blew past Wisconsin’s wolf kill target in less than 72 hours, forcing a premature end to a hunt that initially wasn’t supposed to happen for another nine months and raising the ire of animal rights activists. The Department of Natural Resources closed the season Wednesday afternoon after hunters and trappers had killed 178 wolves, …

Wisconsin hunters quickly kill wolves; season to end early
3 years, 10 months ago

Wisconsin hunters quickly kill wolves; season to end early

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin wildlife officials plan to end the state’s wolf season after just three days after hunters and trappers killed nearly 70% of the state’s quota in less than 48 hours. The Department of Natural Resources announced Tuesday that all six management zones would close by Wednesday afternoon. The department announced Tuesday morning that it would close three …

Wisconsin opens early wolf hunt after hunter group sued
3 years, 10 months ago

Wisconsin opens early wolf hunt after hunter group sued

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin wildlife officials opened a wolf season Monday after hunting advocates sued to move the start date up from November amid fears that the Biden administration might restore protections for the animals. Maureen Hackett, founder and president of Howling for Wolves, a Minnesota-based wolf advocacy organization, issued a statement Monday condemning the Wisconsin hunt. “The political decision …

Wisconsin judge orders start to wolf hunt this month
3 years, 10 months ago

Wisconsin judge orders start to wolf hunt this month

Associated Press  

JEFFERSON, Wis. — A Wisconsin judge ordered the state Department of Natural Resources on Thursday to start a gray wolf hunt this month rather than waiting until November. The records don’t include Brantmeier’s rationale beyond a notation that he’s directing the DNR to “follow their duty to hold the Gray Wolf hunting season in February 2021.” Asked if the DNR …

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