Wolf case reward offered
Published Tuesday, July 1, 2003 1:55:15 PM Central Time
IRONWOOD — Defenders of Wildlife is offering a $3,000 reward for
information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s)
responsible for illegally shooting and killing a female wolf near
Ironwood.
Law enforcement officials found the radio-collared animal in late May or
early June and have interviewed several people who might have information
about the killing.
A recent report from the DNR indicated conservation officers Phil
Wolbrink, David Painter, Brett Gustafson and Det. Michael Johnson are
investigating.
It is one of the first wolf killings in the western U.P. this year,
although several illegal killings from last year remain unsolved.
The female wolf had pups in the past, but was not nursing pups when it was
killed, according to Lisa Osborn, the Northeast-Great Lakes representative
of Defenders of Wildlife.
Late last year, the DNR said $3,000 rewards were being offered for
information in six open cases involving the illegal killing of wolves in
the U.P., including the following two in Gogebic County:
–On 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.
–On Nov. 6, a female wolf was found dead of gunshot wounds eight miles
north of Ironwood, in the Little Girl’s Point area.
The DNR’s Report All Poaching hotline is 1-800-292-7800.
Osborn may be e-mailed at losborn@defenders.org