Gray Wolf Off Endangered Species List Friday

Beginning Friday, the gray wolf will no longer be considered a federally endangered species in Wisconsin and in other parts of the western Great Lakes region.

Under the rule published by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in late December, which takes effect Friday, gray wolves in the Western Great Lakes Distinct Population Segment will no longer be considered either endangered or threatened by the federal government. The segment includes the states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota and portions of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, South Dakota and North Dakota.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will manage the wolf population in the state outside of tribal reservation lands. DNR officials said areas where wolves have attacked domestic animals will be addressed immediately.

“We’ve been fighting hard to gain this authority, and we are grateful to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for removing gray wolves in the upper Midwest from the lists of endangered and threatened species,” said DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp. “We are ready and capable of managing Wisconsin’s wolf population at a healthy, sustainable level and we welcome the opportunity to begin addressing those areas where problem wolves are attacking domestic animals.”

Wisconsin regulations will treat the gray wolf as a protected wild animal, which means that authorization from the DNR is required before a person can attempt to “take” or kill a wolf. There are currently no plans for a hunting season on wolves, as this would involve a change in state law and a public rule-making process, the DNR says.

Wisconsin’s 1999 wolf management plan and a 2007 addendum to the plan will be the basis of wolf management in the state. These documents outline the strategy for Wisconsin’s wolf population, as well as outlining an approach for controlling depredation situations, the DNR says.

Landowners or people leasing land will have authority to shoot wolves only when in the act of attacking domestic animals on their land, the DNR says. These individuals also will be able to get permits to shoot any wolf coming on their land if they have experienced wolf problems within the last two years, the department reports.

Any wolf shot or trapped by a landowner or leaseholder must be reported to the DNR within 24 hours, and the carcass must be turned over the DNR, the agency reports.

Conditions under which control permits will be issued include the following five situations:

• Landowners have had verified attacks on livestock or pets on their property within the last two years can request permits.
• Landowners with vulnerable pets or livestock, and whose property lies within one mile of a property with a depredation during the same year.
• Farmers with livestock in a DNR-designated “proactive control area.”
• Farmers who have had verified harassment of livestock.
• Any landowner in an area where a perceived human safety situation occurs.

With the federal delisting of wolves, states will be required to continue monitoring of the state wolf populations for the next five years. The department currently uses a system of radio-tracking collared wolves, snow track surveys and collection of public wolf observations to track population trends.

The DNR will continue to recruit and train citizen volunteers to assist with wolf management, primarily through tracking surveys.

During the winter of 2010-2011, biologists estimated a population of about 800 wolves in Wisconsin. The results of this winter’s surveys will be available in the spring.