The ruling stops wolf hunting across the country, except for parts of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
Wolf hunting in Wisconsin is doubtful this year after a federal judge in California said gray wolves need to be protected once again.
Federal District Judge Jeffrey White from the Northern District of California on Thursday ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service failed to look at the full population of wolves in parts of the west and the upper Midwest when the agency removed endangered species protections for the wolves back in 2021.
“The Service’s analysis relied on two core wolf populations to delist wolves nationally and failed to provide a reasonable interpretation of the ‘significant portion of its range’ standard,” White wrote.
The ruling stops wolf hunting across the country, except for parts of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
Wisconsin Wolf Hunt Stopped – DNR Response
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources put out the following statement:
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today announced that following a U.S. District court’s ruling on Feb. 10 returning wolves in the lower 48 states (except the northern Rocky Mountains region) to the Federal Endangered Species List, Wisconsin is not authorized to implement a wolf harvest season. The DNR is reviewing the ruling to determine how it impacts hunters and trappers who purchased licenses for the Fall 2021 wolf hunt.
Wisconsin’s wolf population remains healthy and secure in the state. The department will continue its robust wolf population monitoring program to ensure the population remains healthy and sustainable into the future.
The DNR will also continue working towards promulgation of rules and the completion of a wolf management plan to guide management decisions. The DNR is reviewing the decision to determine how it impacts Wisconsin’s wolf management program.
Other immediate implications of this ruling include the following:
–Permits allowing lethal removal of wolves issued to landowners experiencing wolf conflicts are no longer valid. The department will contact permit holders directly.
–The department is not authorized to use lethal control as part of its conflict management program. Non-lethal tools remain available.
–The training of dogs to track and trail wolves is not allowed. Dog hunters may no longer pursue wolves for training purposes.
The DNR remains committed to assisting individuals that experience conflicts with wolves through an interagency cooperative agreement with USDA-Wildlife Services for abatement and control.
If you suspect wolves in the depredation of livestock, pets or hunting dogs, or if wolves are exhibiting threatening or dangerous behavior, contact USDA-Wildlife Services staff immediately. If in northern Wisconsin, call 1-800-228-1368 or 715-369-5221; if in southern Wisconsin, call 1-800-433-0663 or 920-324-4514.
For move on wolves in Wisconsin: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/…/wildlife…/wolfmanagementplan
Hunter Nation, one of the groups in Wisconsin that pressed for a return to wolf hunting, said in a statement Thursday that the judge is turning his back on “common-sense predator management.”
The group-issued statement continued: “We are disappointed that an activist judge from California decided to tell farmers, ranchers, and anyone who supports a balanced ecosystem that he knows better than them,” Hunter Nation President and CEO Luke Hilgemann said. “We prefer to trust local experts and conservation and hunting partners to come up with predator management programs that make sense for them rather than putting our faith in bureaucrats who don’t spend time in the woods or never have to deal with the negative consequences of an uncontrolled wolf population.”
Hunter Nation says it looks forward to an appeal from the Biden Administration.
Wisconsin’s wolf hunt has been controversial since it began again in January of 2021.
The Evers Administration initially fought a return to hunting, but relented only after a judge ordered a hunt in February of last year. Hunters took 218 wolves in just three days. That was far more than environmentalists and the state’s Department of Natural Resources had wanted.
Thursday’s ruling is the fourth time since 2003 that Wisconsin’s wolf hunt has been frozen by the federal government or a federal judge.
Wisconsin has had a hunting season for just three years in the last decade, from 2012 until 2014, and again from January of 2021 until this week.
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