Wolf population continues to rise
DNR estimates increase at 75-100
By Paul A. Smith of the Journal Sentinel
Wausau — Wisconsin was home to about 725 gray wolves in about 185 packs during the 2009-’10 winter, according to state biologists.
The estimate, derived from tracking surveys and aerial counts, represents an increase of 75 to 100 wolves over 2008-’09, said Adrian Wydeven, wolf ecologist for the Department of Natural Resources.
The estimate was tallied Friday and Saturday at the annual Wisconsin Wolf Stakeholder Committee meeting in Wausau.
The official population range was listed at from 702 to 746 wolves.
The animals have shown substantial increases in both population and range over the last decade, said Randy Jurewicz, conservation biologist in the DNR’s endangered resources program.
The extent of the growth has surprised even state biologists.
“Ten years ago I would have never believed we’d be over 700 wolves in Wisconsin,” said Wydeven. “But they continue to find adequate food and habitat, including in some areas that weren’t considered suitable in the past.”
In 2000, the wolf population was estimated at 248 animals in 65 packs.
The stakeholders group, comprised of about 50 individuals ranging from hunting to animal rights groups, discussed the most recent estimate and reviewed a revised wolf management plan for the state.
At the direction of the Natural Resources Board, the plan will include an option for a public wolf harvest.
Such a harvest, whether by hunting or trapping, would not occur for at least several years, said Wydeven.
First the wolf would have to be delisted as an endangered species in Wisconsin, the Legislature would have to authorize a season and the DNR would have to establish the necessary regulations.
But according to the most recent estimate, the state’s wolves could sustain a public harvest now, said Wydeven.
The proposed management plan would require a minimum of 375 wolves in Zone 1 (northern Wisconsin) or Zone 2 (the central forest) for a hunt to occur. Northern Wisconsin had at least 500 wolves last winter, according to estimates.
Payments to ranchers, farmers and homeowners for wolf depredation have been higher than anticipated in recent years, according to a committee report.
A 1999 wolf plan assumed annual reimbursements for wolf depredation in the $20,000 to $40,000 range. But the state paid $108,000 for wolf depredation in 2008-’09, up from about $86,000 in 2007-’08, according to state records.
The draft of the state’s revised wolf management plan will be presented to the NRB at its August meeting, said Wydeven, and likely will be out for public comment this fall.