Wisconsin wildlife officials are expected to vote on a contentious new wolf management plan that doesn't include a specific population goal. The Department of Natural Resources' board was scheduled to vote on the plan Wednesday after taking public comments.
FILE - A gray wolf is seen, July 16, 2004, at the Wildlife Science Center in Forest Lake, Minn. Wisconsin wildlife officials were expected to vote Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023, on a contentious new wolf management plan that doesn’t include a specific population goal despite demands from hunters and farmers to establish a hard cap on the animals.
The DNR adopted a wolf management plan in 1999 that called for capping the population at 350 wolves. The latest DNR estimates, however, indicate the population currently stands at around 1,000 wolves.Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources secretary resigning after 10 months on the jobWith the population growing, Republican legislators in 2011 passed a law requiring the DNR to hold an annual wolf hunting season.
The proposal has met with sharp criticism from farmers and hunters who want to see a specific statewide population goal. The Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, the largest farmers association in the state, has called forRepublicans who control the state Senate on Oct. 17 refused to confirm four members of the DNR board who said they supported the new management plan, removing them from the board. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers named four replacements the same day.
Ed Harvey of the Conservation Congress, a group of influential sportsmen who advise the DNR, said the organization doesn’t think the plan should keep the 350-wolf goal. He complained that the department hasn’t given enough weight to the opinions of people who live among wolves. But Paul Collins, Wisconsin state director of Animal Wellness Action, said the department only listened to pro-hunting groups when developing the plan.
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