Your Wisconsin Outdoor Community
Hunting Dogs, Gun Dog Training => General Hunting Dog topics => Topic started by: mudbrook on September 27, 2010, 03:23:08 PM
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Wolf population too high
Overpopulation can be devastating
I'm sure you remember "I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house down!" Since we were little kids, we have learned to fear the wolf, the "savage" killer. Their eerie howl causes chills to run down the spine of anyone in earshot. In reality, the wolf is a vital predator, essential to the ecosystems it inhabits. In recent years, Wisconsin has been blessed with the reintroduction of wolves following migration from upper Minnesota. Lately, however, this blessing has become too much of a good thing.
Wolf populations have grown beyond their carrying capacity, endangering their habitat. For this reason, the grey wolf of the Western Great Lakes Distinct Population Segment (consisting mostly of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan) was removed from the Endangered Species List in 2009, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Unfortunately, lawsuits from the Humane Society of the United States and other groups have successfully put the grey wolf back on the list. This denies the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources the hunting power they need. It's simple: since there are too many wolves, we need to remove them from the endangered species list so the DNR can carry out a controlled harvest.
In 1999, the Wisconsin DNR formed a management plan, setting a goal for wolf recovery at 350 animals in the state. They estimated the state carrying capacity at around 500, but at the time these guidelines were set, the wolf population was estimated at about 205. Just 11 years later, the wolf population is estimated to be 690. In that short time span, the population almost tripled, almost doubling the DNR goal. This year, wolf numbers are 190 above the estimated carrying capacity.
Without human intervention, wolf numbers are controlled through starvation. When wolf numbers grow too high, they kill too many animals of prey, in turn leading many predators to starve. This allows prey numbers to grow once again. Human intervention would prevent the growth of prey species to recover from heavy predation, in the form of both hunting and habitat destruction.
read more....
http://www.dailycardinal.com/wolf-population-too-high-1.1642511