By Gus Burns
DETROIT, MI — The Michigan wolf hunt debate is bristling, especially in the political realm.
The first-ever, 46-day hunt last November and December in three small sections of the Upper Peninsula resulted in the death of 23 wolves. Whether the hunt will resume this year remains in limbo.
In the meantime, the Manistee Reservation-based Little River Band of Ottawa Indians want their opposition to be known. Representatives from the tribe spent more than two hours presenting their case to the Natural Resources Commission, the body that voted 5-1 last summer in favor of the hunt, during their monthly meeting at the DNR Outdoor Adventure Center in Detroit Thursday.
The 6-member Natural Resource Commission is a body appointed by the governor.
The tribe’s presentation was mostly a rehash of arguments already made as far back as 2012, that the rationale for the hunt, claims that it’s necessary to protect people, pets and wildlife, are bogus, or at least unfounded.
One of the presenters, Ari M. Cornman of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians Natural Resources Department, presented a statistic showing the number of wolf-blamed livestock killings in 2012, 20, was lower than all but one other year tracking back to 1985. It peaked in 2010 with 49, but the largest percentage of those came from one problematic cattle farm that his since come under DNR scrutiny and ceased operation, said Cornman.
“We are not saying there is no problem,” Cornman said. “If you’re a farmer and your cow gets killed, that is a problem.”
But, he said, the taxpayer burden is negligible. Cornman provided a figure of $106,143.16 spent by the DNR to reimburse farmers for their losses to wolves between 1998 and 2012.
To compare: the DNR spends more than $300,000 each year on protecting turkey habitat, Cornman said.
Although the wolf population has steadily grown to an estimated 687 winter population in 2011 since arriving in both the west and east ends of the Upper Peninsula in the late-1980s. The number dipped slightly in 2012 to about 658, which hunt opponents say likely indicates the population is leveling off.
According to DNR records, 11 domesticated dogs were killed by wolves between 2012 and Nov. of 2013.
Another speaker, John Vucetich, a Michigan Technological University professor and hunting scholar, said there are more people killed by bees than wolves.
He called human deaths caused by wolves “stunningly rare.”
“What we’re really interested in is a very honest explanation of what the real rationale is,” Cornman said at the conclusion of his presentation. “Say that this isn’t really a hunt to control conflicts (if it’s not), it’s a hunt because people like to kill wolves and we want to accommodate that; or because some people are mad and this is sort of a revenge hunt.
“If that’s what it is, just be clear about it. That’s all we’re asking.”
Citizens for Professional Wildlife Management, a group supporting the hunt, has filed a citizen’s initiative with 370,000 signatures. It counteracts two ballot proposals scheduled to appear on the November ballot that would negate the Natural Resource Commissions designation of wolves as game animals.
If the Legislature passes the initiative — it has 40 days to make a decision — the issue will go back to the Natural Resources Decision for a new vote.
Multiple commissioners say Thursday’s presentation by the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians didn’t sway their position.
“I think I would still support a wolf hunt” said NRC Commissioner John Matonich, who voted in support of the hunt last year. “The information was very valuable … but it is information we’ve heard before, and we’ve also heard information in the opposite direction … ”
“If you look at the neighboring states, Minnesota and Wisconsin both have come to the same conclusion, that there is a serious need for management … for safety concerns.”
Commissioner Tim Nichols said he supported the first vote and it’s “too early to tell” if it was a success.
“I’m probably not ready to say that, this is my first exposure to it publicly,” said newly-appointed member Vicki Pontz when asked where she currently stands on the issue. She was not on the board when it voted last year, .
“I think the science presented today was very compelling,” she said. “I haven’t see the science from the other side and it looks like there will be plenty of time for that.”
The state issued 1,200 wolf permits in 2013 at a cost of $100 to Michigan residents, $500 for out-of-state hunters.