Rewards offered in wolf cases
Published Monday, December 23, 2002 1:56:31 PM Central Time
IRONWOOD — Rewards of $3,000 apiece are being offered in two Gogebic
County wolf killing cases.
The Department of Natural Resources’ Report-All-Poaching program is
offering $1,500, matched by the Defenders of Wildlife’s Imperiled Predator
Fund, for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person
or persons responsible for killing the protected wolves.
Cases in which rewards are being offered include:
–Nov. 16: Officers responded to a mortality signal from a tracking collar
and found a dead wolf in the Black River, north of Powderhorn Mountain.
–Nov. 6: A female wolf was found dead of gunshot wounds eight miles north
of Ironwood in what is called Jarvi Country.
–Oct. 2: The remains of a dead wolf were located near Deerfoot Lodge
Road, along the Fence River, in northeastern Iron County, Mich.
–Sept. 22: A female wolf was found dead of gunshot wounds on the east
side of Forest Highway 16, about seven miles north of U.S. 2, in Iron
County.
–Sept. 17: DNR officials recovered a dead wolf in Mackinac County,
northeast of Engadine. The adult female was collared in central Minnesota
with a GPS satellite collar. Before coming to Michigan, she had moved from
central Minnesota into Ontario, then back through Minnesota and Wisconsin
to locate in the eastern U.P. It is believed the animal died of gunshot
wounds in early September.
–July 3: DNR staff responded to a mortality signal from a wolf collar.
Although the collar was recovered from the east branch of the Munuscong
River, having been cut from the wolf, the remains of the animal have not
been located. The adult male had been collared by the DNR one month
earlier in Mackinac County.
“Although some information has come forward since we offered the initial
rewards last month, we are working to further substantiate our
investigations,” said Lt. Thomas Courchaine, DNR District Law Supervisor.
“These are some of the largest rewards we have offered, and we hope it
will bring forth the information we need to close these cases.
“To think anyone would hate and fear this animal so much so that they
would destroy it shows willful disrespect for our ecosystem and the
important role this predator plays in maintaining a good balance between
predators and prey species such as beaver and deer,” said Courchaine. “We
hope someone will be incensed enough about the crimes, as well as
encouraged by the rewards, that they will come forward and help us to
resolve these cases once and for all.”
Anyone with information relative to any of the cases may contact the RAP
hotline at 800-292-7800 or the local DNR or law enforcement agency.