Wolf population continues to rise in Wisconsin
Experts call for a more flexible management plan
Leah Gernetzke
Reporter
At a Wisconsin Wolf Stakeholder Committee meeting last Friday and Saturday, members tallied and announced an official state wolf population range from 702-746, further widening the gap between the species’ endangered status and reality.
“The wolf population has shown to be very secure in the Great Lakes area,” mammalian ecologist Adrian Wydeven said in a previous interview with The Times.
In fact, the number of wolves has increased by 75-100 animals since 2008-09 alone, and well exceeds the current state management goal of 350 wolves.
Considering their near extinction in the state from the 1950s to the 1970s, the wolves have made an impressive comeback from their underdog status.
But as the population continues to rise, so do questions about the species’ impact.
As apex predators, wolves play an integral part in a forest’s biodiversity by reducing the impact of overgrazing by feeding on animals such as deer or elk, which in turn allows diverse plants to flourish.
Animals such as beaver have a more habitable environment, as well.
Too few wolves undoubtedly causes problems; But too many wolves can also have a detrimental impact on the eco-system.
As stated on the DNR’s wolf management strategies Web page, balance is the bottom line – “An ecosystem management approach to forest management on public and private land will balance considerations for wolves with other forest species.”
The impact on human institutions is also resounding.
The DNR has been fueling more money into wolf depredation reimbursements, for instance; in 1999, the wolf plan allotted $20,000 to $40,000 for depredations, increasing to $86,000 in 2007-08. In 2008-09, the state paid about $108,000.
The committee addressed these pertinent issues by reviewing a revised state wolf management plan under the direction of the Natural Resources Board.
The plan will potentially include a wolf harvesting season.
“The sooner Wisconsin can have a management plan that minimizes contact with humans, the better for both the humans and the wolves,” David Mech, a wildlife research biologist from Minnesota, said in a previous interview with The Times.
However, this plan is not likely to be implemented in the near future; the first step is removing the wolves from the endangered species list.
“They were put back on the list because of legal niceties,” Mech said. “They didn’t hold proper public hearings.
“This time they will have to make a new proposal for a longer public hearing.”
Mech is referring to the most recent process of re-listing the wolves.
In it, the U.S. District Court overturned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to delist the animals due to a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Humane Society and 16 other organizations in 2009.
The court sent the decision back to the service for re-consideration, which republished the final rule that year with the same verdict; the wolves were still off the list.
Ultimately, the judge ruled in favor of the society, and the service admitted that the public should have been given an opportunity to comment during the re-consideration.
In August, the committee will present a draft of the revised wolf management plan to the Natural Resources Board, which will then be out for public comment in the fall – the first step toward de-listing the species.
“Right now, it is most critical to have them off the endangered species list and develop a flexible management system,” Wydeven said.