A Note from Our Executive Director

We are in a crisis. It’s happening in real time and it is so heartbreaking. Heat waves, forests fires, and oceans predicted to crash by 2025. Even the killing of National Park resident wolves in the west.

And our leaders, our lawmakers? Their reaction is to author unprecedented rollbacks and eliminations of bedrock environmental laws. Politicians continue attacks on endangered species by throwing their fate back into the state hands. Apparently they didn’t hear the news about Wisconsin exceeding state quota with over 200 wolves killed in three days with dogs. Somehow, it is still more important to expand trophy hunting on predators and other imperiled wildlife. They don’t care that the majority of people want wolves protected.

Last week, the House Appropriations Interior Subcommittee marked up the FY24 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies bill. As expected, it is loaded with anti-ESA legislative riders. Section 452 of the bill contains language that instructs the Secretary of the Interior to reissue the final rule delisting the Gray Wolf from the Endangered Species List. The inclusion of this and other legislative riders significantly weakens the Endangered Species Act in general and places the gray wolf on a path toward extinction.

It had been difficult for everyone to stay on top of it all, including myself. In the past, we usually see about 10 or 15 riders attached to “must pass” legislation. But this time, Congress has dropped a whopping 107 riders to this Appropriations bill while aiming to slash funding for wildlife, leaving barely enough to do anything for imperiled species.

Additionally, we are up against two other delisting bills in Congress right now. At the state level, we’ve got the 350 cap bill and the Wisconsin wolf management plan coming any day. The national coalition we belong to is working hard to stop this from happening and we are too, but we need your help to fight back. It’s bad news, and if we aren’t fighting as hard as possible, Congress will doom countless species to extinction.

At this point, I am getting nervous about how much longer we are going to be able to keep our wolves protected. Collectively, we need to start preparing for the worst case scenario and get ready for litigation. The wolf slaughter of 2021 will repeat all over again if we don’t stop lawmakers from delisting. They could do this prior to having the new state management plan approved. They can and will come for our wolves again.

I often think about how much more we could do to help wildlife if only we could reform these antiquated federal and state wildlife laws. Policies at every agency, whether it’s the USFWS or Wisconsin DNR, cater to a small vocal minority they consider customers. 

We are up against so many opponents that other environmental causes are not. We have to beat Big Agriculture, the NRA, Big Timber, Extractive Industries, Hunting Rights groups, Trophy Hunting groups such as Safari Club and even the National Wildlife Federation. Many of our lawmakers are just the gateway for donors to take all our resources without any regulation. 

That is why we need all hands on deck in speaking on behalf of wildlife. As a united organization, we plan to continue to get in the way of these powerful corporations and pay-to-play environmental policies. We have a long and arduous road ahead, but I hope you’re with us. 

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An updated draft of the Wisconsin wolf management plan just dropped TODAY so we are calling an emergency meeting THIS THURSDAY, August 3rd @ 6:00 PM to go over the revised plan and determine action steps to follow. Please review the plan using the links provided below and come with your questions. We hope to see you there!

Review the Wisconsin Wolf Plan here

More information about the plan here – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Updated Wisconsin wolf draft plan steers clear of population goal but 800 to 1,200 likely

The DNR has resisted calls to set a statewide numerical goal for the gray wolf population, according to an update of its draft Wisconsin wolf management plan released Tuesday.

But the modified proposal now makes it clear the agency’s objectives would likely keep the state’s wolf population between about 800 and 1,200 animals, or about the number found in the state in recent years.

Although DNR social science surveys in 2014 and 2022 found majority support among Wisconsin residents for the “current number or more wolves,” some groups including the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation as well as individuals and legislators have pushed to set a statewide wolf population goal of 350 animals.

Wisconsin had 972 wolves in 288 packs in late winter 2022, according to the most recent DNR estimate. Read more here.

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DEPREDATIONS ARE A NON-ISSUE

Livestock depredation is a make-believe issue. In 2022, 1,000 wolves shared the Wisconsin landscape with 3.4 million cattle. Wolves killed 30 cows, or 0.0009 percent, and the state compensated farmers. These incidences occurred at 11 farms. The Wisconsin DNR however, went on to kill 71 wolves as a result.

We do not have problems with wolves killing livestock except for a few farms in Bayfield and Douglas County. Those farms are being helped. So why reduce the entire state population of wolves? This is not about small farmers and never has been. Several losses are corporate owned cattle for Jack Links. Corporate farms don’t care to prevent depredation because wolves ultimately don’t effect the profit bottom line. Most farms know that losses by wolves is so incredibly rare that the expense of prevention just isn’t worth it. They’d just rather not have wolves or frankly anything that gets in the way of business, be it wildlife, environmental regulation or watershed health. 

So far, there have been five confirmed wolf depredations on domesticated animals this year, according to Wisconsin DNR data. Were they cows, sheep, chickens, or a beloved household pet? Nope. They all were hunting hounds, of course. 

Hunting hounds run off-leash, out of sight, and miles away at a time. They run our public lands, deep within the northern forests where more than 80% of our wolf population lives. Wolves don’t kill these bear hounds, their owners do. Wolves are simply protecting their young and their territory. 

As the DNR states, wolves present a near zero risk to bird dogs and household pets. Wildlife services shouldn’t be killing ANY wolves for “safety”. Wolves are safe for people to be around. EVERY wolf killed for safety is out of human fear and intolerance. Sometimes a wolf who has been conditioned with food or improper carcass disposal by farmers can become more tame around humans and considered higher risk. But Wolves in Wisconsin are already conditioned to being fed by bear hunters who dump bait in our forests from April to October. Every animal can be attracted to bait and wolves are no exception. 

Tragically, wolf depredations have become part of the sport. The majority of bears don’t tree as people think. It takes aggressive pushing by multiple hounds. The “hunters” watch this happen via GPS from their trucks and only come out once the dog’s tracking has stopped. This is often why the dogs are consumed before the hunter even gets there. 

Year after year, hounders continue failing to avoid wolf caution areas in Wisconsin. Worse yet, bear hunters who choose to put their dogs at extreme risk of horrific injury and even death can be compensated with $2500 in depredation payments sourced from tax payer dollars.

No other state compensates owners for hunting dogs killed by wolves. Many speculate that Wisconsin’s compensation program creates an “incentive for abuse” — that is, some hunters consider their dogs expendable, and are willing to put them in harm’s way, especially if the state will compensate them for any loss.

The brutality, abuse and torture of wolves and dogs should not be acceptable to the people of Wisconsin. Wolf hunting with dogs is nothing more than legal animal fighting likely to result in vicious and deadly encounters between these animals. We cannot continue to fight the Bear Hounders Association without your support. Please give today.

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August 3rd: Wisconsin Wolf Management Plan

August 10th: Annual Rendezvous for the Pack! REGISTER HERE

August 26th: Yellowstone Wolf Summit Review

with special guest speakers Kim Bean of Wolves of the Rockies and Diane Cain from our Board of Directors.