By Tim Martin
LANSING, MI – It’s possible Michigan will consider allowing a limited gray wolf hunt in the Upper Peninsula next year.
A state Senate committee is scheduled to hear testimony on the subject Wednesday, although no votes are expected during the meeting.
“I see no reason not to have a hunt sometime in 2013,” state Sen. Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba, told MLive.com on Tuesday.
A bill that would make the gray wolf a game animal has been introduced in the state House, but it hasn’t yet advanced. It is possible lawmakers could consider legislation during the so-called “lame duck” session after the Nov. 6 election. If not, the Legislature could take up wolf hunt legislation in 2013.
The state’s Natural Resources Commission would have to get involved in setting rules and procedures for a limited wolf hunt if the Legislature were to approve making the wolf a game animal.
The Department of Natural Resources supports a “thoughtfully and carefully implemented wolf season,” according to spokesman Ed Golder.
The hunt can legally be considered because the federal government has taken the gray wolf off the endangered species list for the Great Lakes region. That puts wolf management under state jurisdiction in Michigan.
Wisconsin started its first organized wolf hunt this week. Minnesota has a hunt scheduled for November. And now Michigan might follow suit.
Michigan has an estimated wolf population of nearly 700 in the Upper Peninsula, according to the Department of Natural Resources. That’s up from just more than 500 in 2008 and just more than 200 in 2000.
The growth in population has sparked more concerns from Upper Peninsula farmers about the animals preying on their livestock. That’s one of the factors driving consideration of the hunt.
Property owners are allowed to capture or kill wolves in some cases involving livestock loss, but some say more aggressive measures are warranted.
Wolves also are blamed for cutting into the Upper Peninsula’s deer population and killing pets. Some also say wolf population control is needed to minimize chances of wolves threatening people.
There would be opposition to a Michigan wolf hunt. Animal welfare groups that opposed the federal delisting have fought the hunts in Wisconsin and Minnesota. According to The Associated Press, The Humane Society of the United States and the Fund for Animals sent notice Monday to the U.S. Department of the Interior and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that it will sue if Great Lakes wolves aren’t placed back on the endangered species list within 60 days.
The Humane Society argues that the wolf population can be managed without an open hunting season.