Letter: Look to Native Americans for guidance on wolves.

Dear Editor: Gray wolves were killed off in the state by the 1950s because of the unmitigated fear, of killing off their prey and competition with farming and extractive industries. Before this, the Anishinaabe people and the wolf coexisted for centuries. This relationship was an understanding that both can help each other to survive.

Now, the gray wolf is back on the landscape with a population estimated to be around 1,200 thanks to the Endangered Species Act. After federal delisting in 2012, the Wisconsin Legislature mandated that wolf hunts would be required whenever gray wolves were off the ESA list. Several wolf hunts, four to be exact, took place, with one being a controversial court-ordered three-day hunt during the breeding season in February 2021 that exceeded the allotted quota, angering many people.

The state must work with the tribes on wolf management, including hunting seasons, but did not do so on the most recent hunt. The state fails to realize that the relationship between the wolf and the Anishinaabe people is vital for both. It is a relationship all people benefit from. For example, many people rely on the white-tailed deer to feed their families, and chronic wasting disease threatens the deer population’s health. Could the wolf be the cure? If only conservative fringe hunters and misguided politicians would heed the warnings instead of stoking the fear with propaganda.

Rachel Tilseth