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DNR outlines limit for wolf harvest

By Paul A. Smith of the Journal Sentinel

The Department of Natural Resources has proposed a harvest quota of 201 wolves for the Wisconsin hunting and trapping season scheduled to begin in October.

The quota was announced Tuesday as the agency works to finalize rules for the state’s first regulated wolf harvest.

The wolf was removed from federal protections of the Endangered Species Act and returned to state management in January. In April the Wisconsin Legislature passed Act 169, which established many aspects of the hunting and trapping season, including a 4 1/2 month season, night hunting and the use of dogs to hunt wolves.

The DNR was directed to implement the season and establish wolf harvest quotas and zones.

The proposed harvest is divided into the following zones: 65 wolves in Zone 1, 35 in Zone 2, 37 in Zone 3, 10 in Zone 4, 25 in Zone 5 and 29 in Zone 6.

The department believes such a harvest would “begin to reduce the wolf population,” according to the proposal. The state had between 815 and 880 wolves in 213 packs in winter.

Kurt Thiede, administrator of the agency’s Land Division, said the state is managing the wolf population toward a minimum goal of 350 animals.

“Our goal is to have a viable, sustainable wolf population in Wisconsin,” Thiede said.

The DNR’s proposal would set three levels of harvest goals: A 20% harvest goal in core wolf habitat, mostly in the northern and the central forest; 40% in secondary wolf habitat; and 75% in the rest of the state, including southern Wisconsin, classified as marginal wolf habitat.

Thiede said the proposed quota is based on scientific studies that suggest hunting or trapping of as much as 29% of the wolf population does not have a long-term effect as well as preliminary population modeling by the University of Wisconsin Department of Forestry and Wildlife Ecology.

But Adrian Treves, a leading wolf researcher and director of the Carnivore Coexistence Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin, said the quota was too high.

“Studies have shown that hunter harvest is additive to all other sources of mortality,” Treves said. “A quota of this size is too high to be sustainable for more than one year for wolves in Wisconsin. If the tribes claim their share of the permits in the ceded territories and do not hunt wolves then the quota might be reasonable.”

The agency would issue a maximum of 2,010 licenses (10 times the harvest quota) through a lottery.

The actual number of permits available won’t be known until American Indian tribes make a declaration for their portion of the quota. By law, the tribes are entitled to declare up to 50% of the quota in the ceded territory.

Jason Stark, attorney for the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, said the tribes had not made any decisions regarding their wolf harvest declarations. Stark said tribal representatives would discuss issues related to the DNR’s wolf proposal next week at a meeting of the Voigt Intertribal Task Force.

In recognition of tribal opposition to the proposed wolf hunting and trapping season, the proposal would establish a wolf quota of zero on American Indian reservations in the state.

License fees were set by the legislature at $100 for residents and $500 for non-residents. The drawing fee is $10.

Under the proposal, hunters and trappers would be required to register wolves by telephone or Internet within 24 hours of the kill.

The department would issue an emergency closure in a harvest zone if the quota is reached.

Act 169 also changed the funding source for wolf depredation payments in Wisconsin. The money had come from the state’s Endangered Resources Fund; it now comes from proceeds of hunting and trapping license sales and application fees.

The state has paid $214,794 for wolf depredation in 2012.

The DNR plans to sell wolf hunting and trapping applications from Aug. 1 to 31. Those selected through the lottery could buy licenses in September.

A public meeting on the proposed harvest quota and zones is planned for 9 a.m. July 17 in at the Holiday Inn and Convention Center, 1001 Amber Ave., Stevens Point. The Natural Resources Board will vote on the proposal at the meeting.

The public must pre-register to testify at the meeting no later than 4 p.m. July 12. To register, contact Laurie Ross, board liaison, at laurie.ross@wisconsin.gov or (608) 267-7420.

Written comments may be sent to NRBcomments@wisconsin.gov or mailed to: Laurie Ross, NRB Liaison, Wisconsin DNR – AD/8, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707-7921.

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