Experts Count Wisconsin Wolf Population
By Bob Bach
This is the time of year wildlife officials make a count of wolves in the Wisconsin. Radio collared animals are tracked by air and on the ground. Experts and trained volunteers also explore the countryside searching for wolf tracks and other markings to assist in the census. Adrian Wydeven leads the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources wolf restoration effort. He says before there were protections put in place for the animals, there were only about two dozen wolves in the state in the late 1970s. Since then, the wolf population has grown to about 550 animals and this year may top 600. The latest estimate will be finalized in mid-April. That’s also when the natural resources department’s citizen advisory board, the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, is expected to vote on whether to recommend a public hunt to control the state’s growing wolf population.