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Animal Welfare Advocates Fight Against Wisconsin’s Wolf Managment Plan

Wisconsin’s debate over wolf management has reached new heights as animal welfare advocates, represented by the Great Lakes Wildlife Alliance, filed a lawsuit challenging the validity of the state’s recently approved wolf management plan. The lawsuit alleges violations of the state’s open meetings law and raises concerns about the influence of interest groups, particularly those favoring stricter population controls on wolves.

The heart of the dispute lies in the conflicting interests of farmers, hunters, and conservationists. Farmers in northern Wisconsin argue that the wolf population is rapidly increasing and preying on their livestock, while hunters claim that wolves are negatively impacting the deer population. On the other hand, conservationists assert that wolves still need protection and have not firmly established themselves in the state.

The Great Lakes Wildlife Alliance’s lawsuit, filed in Dane County Circuit Court, contends that the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) violated open meetings laws. The organization argues that board members engaged in private discussions with select interest groups after the public comment period ended, influencing changes to the wolf management plan.

The lawsuit specifically accuses DNR board members of attending private meetings hosted by groups such as the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, the Wisconsin Association of Sporting Dogs, and Wisconsin Wolf Facts. The Alliance claims that its members were excluded from some of these discussions. While the lawsuit does not provide details about potential exclusion in February, it asserts that a quorum of board members participated in meetings, leading to alterations in the management plan.

Further, the lawsuit alleges that the DNR disregarded scientific studies questioning the accuracy of wolf population counts and warnings about the efficacy of hunting and trapping as conflict reduction measures. It claims that unverified accounts of wolf aggression against hunters influenced the plan without proper evaluation. The DNR spokesperson declined to comment on the pending litigation.

The legal battle is not isolated, considering Wisconsin‘s history of wolf management. The DNR had initially adopted a plan in 1999, aiming to cap the wolf population at 350. However, the latest estimates indicate a population of around 1,000 wolves. The conflict escalated in 2012 when Republican legislators mandated an annual wolf hunting season, using the 350-wolf limit as justification.

Last year, a federal judge placed gray wolves in the lower 48 states back on the endangered species list, rendering hunting illegal. The DNR has since been working on an updated wolf management plan in anticipation of wolves being removed from the list.