A pack of controversy
DNR relocates wolves that killed farm animals
By CAROL WINKLEMAN
Special to the Journal Sentinel
Last Updated: Sept. 16, 2002
Keshena – Conservation officials have moved a pack of wolves onto the
Menominee Indian Reservation after they killed farm animals, a decision
praised by tribal officials and criticized by some bear hunters.
Two adult wolves and five pups, dubbed the Deerbrook Pack, were moved by
state Department of Natural Resources authorities from their territory in
Langlade County farmland to forest on the reservation in late August and
early September.
The practice of relocating wolves that prey on farm animals has spawned
heated debate, especially as the wolf population in Wisconsin grows, and
the number of wolf attacks on domestic animals increases.
While tribal members celebrated the wolves’ return to the reservation,
some bear hunters said the wolves weren’t moved far enough away from the
area where they killed cattle.
Rick Posig, president of the Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association, said the
relocated wolves will simply return to the farmland in Langlade County.
“When you have a free meal, you don’t go too far from the free meal. It’s
an easy lunch,” Posig said.
On June 28, the wolves killed a calf on a farm two miles from Deerbrook
and dragged it out of the barn. They returned on July 5 and killed a sick
cow in a pasture.
The Menominee reservation is 32 miles from the farm; a wolf’s territory
can cover more than 70 square miles.
But DNR wolf biologist Adrian Wydeven said he’s confident in the wolf
relocation program’s success rate. Of 21 wolves that the DNR has relocated
between 46 and 172 miles from their original location, none has returned.
“The Menominee County release will be less (distance), but we are hoping
that the large open land around Antigo will discourage wolves from going
farther north,” said Wydeven, who added that there are at least 323 wolves
in the state, with 309 outside Indian reservations.
Law requires relocation
According to federal law, the DNR must move wolves that have attacked and
killed domestic animals three times. The U.S. Endangered Species Act
prevents states, as well as individuals, from killing wolves, although
they can be legally destroyed if they attack humans. Now wolves that
return to attack domestic animals can be killed, too, under a federal
permit recently issued to the DNR.
Because of this permit, the Deerbrook Pack has only one more chance. If
any of the wolves prey on domestic animals, they will be captured and
destroyed, Wydeven said.
Wildlife biologists trapped the seven wolves, attached radio collars and
moved them in crates to pens in the reservation wilderness. The pups were
released Aug. 25, and the adults were freed Sept. 2.
Before the wolves were released, Menominee tribal historian David
Nahwaquaw-Grignon spread tobacco around their pens in a ceremony to give
thanks for the wolves’ return to tribal land. A small group of tribal
members and DNR staff formed a circle around the pens while
Nahwaquaw-Grignon blessed the wolves.
“The wolf is regarded by the Menominee as a brother,” said Tribal Deputy
Chief Warden Al Fowler.
But some farmers and bear hunters think problem wolves need greater
restrictions.
Not only are farm animals at risk, but dogs used by bear hunters have been
killed by wolves in Wisconsin, Posig said.
“It’s not that we’re against all wolves. We’re against the wolves that are
causing depredation,” Posig said. “Let’s manage wolves to the fullest, or
not have them at all.”
Posig proposes a “three strikes and you’re out” rule that permits the
destruction of the wolves that kill dogs or livestock three times on
public or private land.
Another bear hunter, Dwight Freymiller, said wolves and humans can
co-exist if humans take necessary precautions.
“Wolves are here. By being anti-wolf, we are picking a fight we can’t win.
I’d vote for eliminating wolves, but in Wisconsin wolves are just a fact
of life,” Freymiller said.