We Just Sent Our Formal Demand

May 26, 2026 | Action Alert

This morning, Great Lakes Wildlife Alliance submitted a formal pre-litigation demand letter to Wisconsin DNR Secretary Karen Hyun, Attorney General Josh Kaul, and the Bureau of Natural Heritage Conservation regarding our gray wolf state endangered species petition.

That petition has sat unanswered for more than 350 days.

What the Demand Letter Does

Our letter sets a 10-day deadline for the WDNR to issue a substantive written determination on our petition—either advancing it to a formal public hearing or issuing a written denial with specific biological findings. If they don’t respond, we move to judicial review and formal complaints.

The letter also documents material changes in the threat environment since we filed in June 2025 that independently justify emergency action, including:

• Federal research infrastructure being dismantled in real time
• Congressional legislative threats to wolf protections
• Regulatory rollbacks compounding habitat and prey loss
• Documented gaps in state enforcement capacity

Immediate Congressional Threat: Appropriations and Poison Pills

We are monitoring active Congressional efforts to strip funding and authority from wolf research, monitoring, and protections through:

• Appropriations riders targeting ESA enforcement and federal wolf research capacity
• Senate committee markups that could move legislation restricting state authority over endangered species (timing TBD—this is an active threat we’re tracking)

These are not theoretical. They are happening now. We will alert you immediately when markup dates are confirmed, and we will have specific call-to-action language ready for your representatives.

What Comes Next

May 26–June 5: The WDNR’s 10-day response window. We will share updates with the coalition as they come in.

June+: With media campaign funding now secured, we will be launching paid social, digital outreach, and strategic media placements to reach Wisconsin residents, state legislators, and decision-makers.

Ongoing: We are also filing a pipeline of additional state endangered species petitions grounded in the federal infrastructure collapse—including bats, warblers, and other Great Lakes species whose protections depend on research and monitoring the federal government is eliminating.

How You Can Help Right Now

• Share this alert with anyone who cares about Wisconsin wolves, wildlife law, or the ESA
• Watch for upcoming action calls on Congressional appropriations and Senate markups—we will send specific language and contact info when deadlines emerge
• Help us spread the word when our media campaign launches—we will need shares, comments, and engagement across platforms

This is the moment. The petition is in formal demand. The coalition is mobilized. The media campaign is funded. The question now is whether Wisconsin will act on its independent authority to protect wolves before the federal safety net disappears entirely.

More updates coming soon.

—Melissa Smith
Executive Director, Great Lakes Wildlife Alliance
Speak for Wildlife