So what is going on with the ongoing saga with timber wolves? It has been pretty quiet, but some things are happening.
Recently, some of the protectionist groups petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reclassify the status of wolves in Wisconsin and Michigan from endangered to threatened. When the court put wolves back on the list, they were classified as endangered in those states while in Minnesota they were threatened. Because of this, in Minnesota, wolves causing damage to livestock can be dealt with. But, since they are classed as endangered in Wisconsin and Michigan, they are fully protected.
These groups apparently felt that this would help appease those who wanted some control on wolves in Wisconsin and Michigan but still afford protection to most wolves and continue to prohibit any hunting or trapping. Although this would have been good for timber wolf management in Wisconsin and Michigan, it was denied as the petition also requested that wolves be returned to the endangered species list in Montana and Idaho. Federal legislation several years ago removed wolves from endangered consideration in Montana and Idaho.
There are several bills pending in Congress that would remove wolves from the Endangered Species Act, similar to what was done in Montana and Idaho. The protectionists are using the act to accomplish something that the act was never intended to do.
I am also working on where we should be with timber wolf management if the purpose of the Act would have been allowed to work as intended. They were placed on the list as endangered. A recovery plan was developed and adopted. This plan called for removal from the list when a certain population was attained. When this threshold was reached, reclassification did not occur.
Dave Dickey is a retired DNR Area Wildlife manager. Anyone with a question, comment or story idea should email him at whitetail99@yahoo.com.