There is much debate regarding the role wolves have on deer populations and deer hunting in particular. Many have stated that wolves are “decimating” the deer population in Minnesota and that we need to kill wolves to resolve this issue. We examined publicly-available information collected by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources from 2012 to 2022 regarding deer hunting (number of deer hunters, deer harvested, etc.) in northeastern Minnesota, including the area we study wolves, the Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem.
We compared deer hunter success with 1) data from Minnesota’s 3 most recent wolf hunting/trapping seasons (2012-2014) to see whether killing wolves had any noticeable impact on deer hunter success, and 2) data on wolf and deer populations based on data we have collected in the Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem since 2015 to assess whether deer hunter success was lower when there were more wolves.
Click here for the full story.
Bills to Require Controversial Wolf Population Limit Advancing
From Wisconsin Ag Connection:
Two GOP bills that would require the state to set a specific numerical wolf population goal in future grey wolf management plans are pitting agriculture and pro-hunting interests against some conservation and animal welfare groups.
Agriculture and hunting and wildlife interests that support Assembly Bill 137 and Senate Bill 139 want the Department of Natural Resources to continue a 1999 plan that set a state wolf population goal of 350 animals.
Click here for the full story.
Reward offered for tips on gray wolf illegally killed in Southern Oregon
From
A $5,000 reward is being offered for information about a gray wolf that was illegally killed in Southern Oregon.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering the bounty for information leading to arrests related to the death of the federally protected wolf.
On Nov. 13 the collared male wolf, identified as OR 125, was found dead near Union Creek, east of Crater Lake. Gray wolves are listed as endangered in the western two-thirds of Oregon.
Click here for the full story.
Reward offered for wolf killed near Union Creek
From Herald and News:
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons related to the death of a federally protected gray wolf near Union Creek, a small community in Jackson County that is 23 miles west of Crater Lake National Park.
According to a news release, on Nov. 13 a radio collared male gray wolf known as OR125 was found dead near Union Creek. OR125 was a member of the Rogue Pack, which has been found in the Union Creek and Prospect areas of Jackson County and near Fort Klamath in Klamath County since 2014.
Click here for the full story.
Feds Shrink Montana Wolf Trapping Seasons to Protect Grizzly Bears
From Field & Stream:
A federal judge has cut wolf trapping season in half in most of Montana. The decision comes after multiple animal advocacy groups filed a lawsuit claiming that federally-protected grizzly bears are being unintentionally snared in the western part of the Big Sky State.
According to Montana Public Radio four cases of grizzlies with missing toes and legs were documented by state biologists in 2021. By shrinking the wolf trapping season from nearly four months to less than two months, the ruling aims to mitigate unintentional harm to grizzly bears, the outlet reports.
Click here for the full story.
A new Minnesota deer hunters group wants to shake up the politics of wolf control
From Star Tribune:
In a revolt against what it says is an overabundance of wolves in the North Woods, a group of deer hunters concerned about the scarcity of whitetails has formed a new hunters rights group eager to rock the boat on the politics of wolf management.
Still in its infancy, Hunters For Hunters will rally next week to build its membership with open-invitation meetings in International Falls, Carlton, Aurora and Coleraine. Subsequent meetings are scheduled in Bagley and Detroit Lakes. The group’s recent “wolf control” meeting in Squaw Lake — announced only eight days in advance — drew a crowd estimated at more than 200 people, including three state senators.
Click here for the full story.
Report provides clues for ‘when’ and ‘where’ wolves will be released in Colorado
From Out There Colorado:
As Colorado’s media continues to track the ongoing topic of wolf reintroduction, a recent report from Colorado Sun’s Tracy Ross provides valuable insight on the subject.
Ross reports that Colorado Parks and Wildlife will start the process of collecting wolves in Oregon on December 8, with the current plan being to release these wolves in mid-to-late December in the counties of Grand, Summit, and Eagle (Find Ross’ full report here)
Click here for the full story.
Wildlife managers have no immediate plans to capture wandering Mexican gray wolf | OUT WEST ROUNDUP
From Colorado Politics:
ALBUQUERQUE — It’s been a long journey for one lone Mexican gray wolf — from the forests of southeastern Arizona, across the dusty high desert of central New Mexico to the edge of what is known as the Yellowstone of the Southwest.
Having reached Valles Caldera National Preserve in northern New Mexico, she has wandered far beyond the boundaries established along the Arizona-New Mexico border for managing the rarest subspecies of gray wolf in North America. The recovery area — spanning tens of thousands of square miles — is home to more than 240 of the endangered predators.
Click here for the full story.
Four Endangered Mexican Wolves have found Solace in Minnesota
From WJON:
The Wildlife Science Center, located in Stacy, Minnesota, is the home to the largest population of wolves in the country and an education and research facility.
Four endangered Mexican wolves have recently joined the facility, bringing the total count of Mexican wolves to 9. The Wildlife Science Center has been home to Mexican wolves since 2001. Three of the new wolves are male wolves, and they all live together. The female is new to them all, so the Wildlife Science Center is observing their interactions closely to make sure that they are all getting along.
Click here for the full story.
Wolves, deer, and deer hunting in northeastern Minnesota: the data
From Voyageurs Wolf Project:
There is much debate regarding the role wolves have on deer populations and deer hunting in particular. Many have stated that wolves are “decimating” the deer population in Minnesota and that we need to kill wolves to resolve this issue. We examined publicly-available information collected by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources from 2012 to 2022 regarding deer hunting (number of deer hunters, deer harvested, etc.) in northeastern Minnesota, including the area we study wolves, the Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem.
We compared deer hunter success with 1) data from Minnesota’s 3 most recent wolf hunting/trapping seasons (2012-2014) to see whether killing wolves had any noticeable impact on deer hunter success, and 2) data on wolf and deer populations based on data we have collected in the Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem since 2015 to assess whether deer hunter success was lower when there were more wolves.
Click here for the full story.
How are wildlife officials preparing Coloradans for wolf reintroduction? With a brochure.
From The Colorado Sun:
It’s finally happening: Wolves are coming to Colorado — to join ones already here — and there’s a brochure to prove it.
Every year Colorado Parks and Wildlife issues brochures detailing how Colorado residents can avoid conflicts with wildlife. This year’s conflict literature includes wolves.
Click here for the full story.