09/27/02 Local farms included in wolf-kill compensation fund
By SCOTT BRAND/The Evening News
SAULT STE. MARIE — Michigan farmers, including some right here in the
Eastern Upper Peninsula, have received a total of $13,300 in wolf-kill
compensation through the Michigan Department of Agriculture since 1999.
To date, there have been eight accepted claims with most of them involving
only one or two animals. The largest kill, as recorded by the department
of agriculture was 11 animals at one location. Two of those claims have
been paid out to Chippewa County farmers, according to Public Information
Officer Sara Linsmeier-Wurfel of the Michigan Department of Agriculture.
The other six claims have been paid out for losses in the central and
western Upper Peninsula.
The Michigan Wolf Compensation Program is designed to provide financial
assistance to farmers that experience livestock depredation directly
attributed to wolves. Under the reimbursement guidelines, farmers receive
90 percent of the value of the lost livestock on claims not exceeding
$3,000. The remaining 10 percent is reimbursed by the International Wolf
Center in Ely, Minn.
In a press release announcing this plan dated August of 2000, the Michigan
Department of Natural Resources instructs those suspecting a
wolf-livestock encounter to immediately contact the agency. Affected
parties should not move the slain animals or trample on the kill site as
this can destroy or erase valuable evidence. The announcement also added
that wildlife experts would be dispatched to investigate and verify the
wolf kill.
“The claims have to be verified and certified by the DNR,” said
Linsmeier-Wurfel. “From my understanding, the system works.”
A certain segment of the farming community argues the system does not
always work, indicating there have been occasions where the DNR either did
not respond or failed to respond until long after the wolf-kill evidence
has been washed away.
“It caught us by surprise that this guy had tried to contact us,” said Ann
Wilson, a DNR spokesman after learning of an unanswered August 15 wolf
attack call coming from Stalwart.
Wilson said the department attempts to respond to all wolf-kill complaints
in a timely fashion. She characterized any perceived lack of response as a
“miscommunication” between agencies, adding it certainly was not the
department’s intention to ignore complaints or create any delays in
responding to them.
“We work very hard to make sure they are getting the fair market value for
lost animals,” said Linsmeier-Wurfel, characterizing most recipients as
satisfied with their reimbursements. “It takes 4-6 weeks before the
producer will have a check in hand.”
Linsmeier-Wurfel said farmers who have a confirmed wolf kill should
contact Dr. Mark Remick at (517) 373-1077 in Lansing or Dr. Mike Bruner of
the Escanaba Office at (906) 786-5462 to hasten the reimbursement process.
The latest estimates, coming in an April 30 press release from the DNR,
place the Upper Peninsula’s wolf population at 278 animals.