By Paul A. Smith of the Journal Sentinel
The Department of Natural Resources is seeking volunteers to participate in the Wisconsin carnivore tracking program this winter.
Volunteers help biologists locate and count timber wolves and other forest carnivores. Prospective volunteers are required to attend a training workshop on animal tracking and ecology.
Wolves in the Western Great Lakes region were removed from protections of the federal Endangered Species Act and returned to state management in January. In addition to the state’s plan to monitor the wolf population, there is a federal requirement to monitor the wolf population for the first five years after delisting.
“The volunteer carnivore tracking program is critical for us to obtain counts of the state wolf population,” said Kurt Thiede, DNR Division Administrator of Lands. “With the start of public hunting and trapping season, these surveys will continue to be important for long-term management of wolves and other forest carnivores in Wisconsin.”
After completing training, volunteer trackers are assigned survey blocks in forest portions of northern and central Wisconsin, and are asked to conduct three or more surveys in their assigned block each winter.
Data gathered is compiled with those of other volunteers to aid DNR biologists in evaluating wolf populations.
Volunteer tracker training sessions are scheduled:
- Nov. 3, Ashland, 9 a.m.- 3 p.m., Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center, Highway 2 & G, west of Ashland, $25.
- Dec. 1, Babcock, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Sandhill Outdoor Skills Center, 1 mile north of Highway 173 along County Road X, $15.
- Dec. 8-9, Tomahawk, 8 a.m. Saturday – 4 p.m. Sunday, Wildlife Tracking with Dr. James Halfpenny, Treehaven UW-SP Field Station on Pickerel Creek Road off County A.
The weekend-long workshop with Dr. James Halfpenny costs $185 to $245 depending on the student’s selection of food and lodging options.
Applicants should register as soon as possible as space is limited.
Click here for more information on the volunteer tracking program. Click here for more information on the training classes. Additional classes are listed for 2013.
For more information, contact Adrian Wydeven, DNR Ecologist, at (715) 762-1363.