Wisconsin’s Green Fire Provides Written Testimony on Wolf Management
WI Green Fire, January 13, 2021
On Wednesday, January 13th, 2021, at 10 AM, there was an in-person joint informational hearing with the Senate Committee on Sporting Heritage, Small Business and Rural Issues, and Assembly Committee on Sporting Heritage. This hearing was convened to discuss the process of reinstating the wolf harvesting season in 2021 after the recent de-listing of wolves from the endangered species list. Wisconsin’s Green Fire has been following this issue closely and has provided written testimony to the committees that reflect our recommendations recently published Opportunities Now paper on wolves.
The letter encourages all management decisions involving wolves to be science-based and allow citizens to participate in setting goals and establish a management framework that will reflect the sensitive cultural concerns of Native Americans and other affected Wisconsin citizens. For those reasons, Wisconsin’s Green Fire advocates not to hold a shortened wolf harvesting season this winter. Rather, WDNR should begin work now to update our Wolf Conservation Plan that was last updated in 1999, and until a plan is approved, we recommend that Wisconsin maintain our wolf population within levels that existed between 2016-2020. If the state wants to avoid the legal pitfalls of the past, Wisconsin’s new Wolf Conservation Plan must reflect the best available science and a broad range of public interests.