MADISON, WI (WTAQ) — The Grey Wolf is set to be taken off of the federal endangered species list in January.
That means the Wisconsin DNR has to decide how best to manage the population of just over 1,000 wolves that call the Wisconsin Northwoods and central forests home.
The grey wolf range in the state spans through most of the Northwoods, including Oconto, Menominee, and Marinette Counties in Northeast Wisconsin, as well as the heavily forested Juneau and Adams counties in the central part of the state.
DNR’s Keith Warnke says wolf attacks on farms and ranches in the states have become an issue in recent years.
“Depredation of livestock, especially in northern Wisconsin, is a serious issue,” he told WTAQ on Tuesday.
Warnke says the delisting allows them to grow the “toolbox” they use to manage the wolf population.
“With a delisted wolf population we can implement a whole suite of tools for depredation management,” Warnke said. “Right now, it’s basically all non-lethal. Lethal tools would come back.”
Those tools could include trapping wolves or even opening up a grey wolf hunting season.
Regardless of what they decide, any decision would go through a period of public comment before being implemented.
