The WDNR Wolf Advisory Committee is finalized and ready to take up management of the state’s Gray wolf population.

The stakeholders were chosen to work together on a committee that will manage the State’s estimated 1,0000 Gray wolf population, which is often mired in controversy.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) Wolf Advisory Committee Roster [PDF] has been finalized. The committee meetings will be publicly announced on the public meeting Hearings and Meetings Calendar page.

Wolf Advisory Committee Roster

A federal court ruling on Feb. 10, 2022, listed gray wolves as an endangered species in the lower 48 states (excluding the northern Rocky Mountains region). Wolves in Wisconsin are federally protected. Wolf hunts and lethal depredation control are prohibited for now, that is, until conservative members in the US Congress get their way and put forth legislation to delist them.

In April of 2025, Tiffany’s Wolf Delisting Bill Clears House Natural Resources Committee with 32 Members of Congress cosponsoring Rep. Tiffany and Rep. Boebert’s legislation, including the entire Wisconsin Republican Congressional Delegation. Other Stakeholders that support the Pet and Livestock Protection Act include: Hunter Nation, American Farm Bureau Federation, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), Public Lands Council (PLC), National Rifle Association (NRA), Safari Club International (SCI), International Order of T. Roosevelt (IOTR), Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Mule Deer Foundation, Blacktail Deer Foundation, Colorado Farm Bureau, Colorado Wool Growers, New Mexico Cattle Growers, Minnesota Lamb & Wool Producers Association, Coalition of Arizona/New Mexico Counties, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, Wisconsin Cattlemen’s Association, Nebraska Cattlemen, and Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association. This legislation hasn’t succeeded as of the date of this post. But delisting legislation will more than likely happen soon.

In the Meantime, WDNR has a Wolf Advisory Committee and a Management plan.

According the the WDNR, Wisconsin’s wolf population remains healthy and secure in the state. The department will continue its robust wolf population monitoring program and the implementation of the Wisconsin Wolf Management Plan 2023 [PDF].

I take issue with the wording of their statement, “remains healthy and secure.” That phrase from the WDNR means that wolves will have no problem rebounding from a wolf hunt. There’s only an estimated one thousand Gray wolves living in the northern and southern forests, and it does not represent a healthy population when compared to the challenges they face due to poaching and or illegal killing.

Extremist fringe hunters are determined to exact their revenge because they believe wolves are killing all the White-tailed deer, pets, and livestock and are a threat to people. When in reality, the confirmed and probable wolf depredations are a minor problem and are used by pro-wolf hunt advocates to fuel anti-wolf rhetoric. The aim is to scare the public into believing hunts are necessary to control wolves. I say killing is not conservation. Unfortunately, these extremists hold positions of power in politics and are chomping at the bit for trophy wolf hunts as soon as the feds delist them. These public attitudes are a reflection of previous state-sanctioned wolf hunts in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin legislature sanctioned wolf hunting with the 2011 Wisconsin Act 169, which allows the use of dogs to track and trail wolves. 2011 Wisconsin Act 169.

Is there hope?

Hopefully, the new Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) Wolf Advisory Committee will balance out those extremist voices and lend an ear of reason that will prevent future tragic wolf hunts like what happened in 2021. Nearly one in five wolves in Wisconsin were killed during the state’s February 2021 hunting season, the first such hunt in the United States since the predators lost federal protections only months earlier. The controversial hunt followed a court order and saw state-licensed hunters kill nearly twice as many wolves as the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources had intended for them to harvest in less than three days.

Several excellent pro-wolf advocates are seated on the committee.

The bright side is that the Ojibwa tribal members were admitted to the wolf committee. Ron Nordin knows well the issues that wolves face. He has been part of the Red Cliff (Ojibwe) Treaty Natural Resources Department, working to support wolf families within tribal areas. I know his intentions are honorable because I interviewed him for the Wolves of Douglas County Wisconsin Film about Wolf 813. At approximately 02:00 AM on December 25, 2023, a retired DNR Conservation Warden and pro-wolf hunt advocate shot a wolf at his door. Ron Nordin, Jr., a Wildlife Technician for the Red Cliff Tribe, got the news from the DNR after the holiday break that Wolf 813, a collared wolf he had been monitoring for over ten years, was killed. Ron and his wife, Misty, tell the story of the wolf they knew as Wolf 813, Matriarch of the Echo Valley Pack, and how her life and death impacted them as members of the Red Cliff Ojibwe Tribe. Wolf 813: More than just a wolf, watch the Short Film.

Wisconsin tribes remain opposed to wolf hunting.

Another wolf committee member who will lend a great deal of hope and ethics to the cause of wolf recovery is Amy Mueller, representing the Wisconsin Sierra Club, and she is working hard to give the gray wolf a voice in Wisconsin. She partners well with the needs of gray wolves, DNR agency personnel, the public, and the Sierra Club.

No one has given more of their time and funds to help wolf recovery than Kevin Renley, representing at at-large Wisconsin Resident category on the wolf committee. Renley was a major contributor to the film People & Wolves, a story of coexistence. I do not doubt that Renley will make a positive impact on the wolf committee due to his passion for wolf recovery in Wisconsin.

Watch the film on YouTube

Peter David represents the Timber Wolf Alliance (TWA). TWA works to educate the public on wolf recovery in wisconsin. Peter David understands the delicate balance needed in educating the public for the benefit of wolf recovery in Wisconsin, spending years working with the tribe as a wildlife biologist.

“We had this rather brief and brutal wolf season in February of 2021 when about 20% of the state’s wolf population was killed in just three days. So, an example really of how easy it is to kill wolves. I think if folks experienced a 14% decline in their salary, they’d probably feel that that was a significant percentage. And certainly, if you have the Ojibwe view that this is literally a 14% decline in your relatives, it holds a lot of meaning in a lot of significance.”
~Peter David, Wildlife Biologist, and cast member, People & Wolves Movie.

Let’s not forget the committee is made up of all wolf stakeholders, including those who are pro-wolf hunt. Therefore, time will tell how well the committee members work together for Wisconsinites and Gray wolves.

The WDNR Wolf Advisory Committee is finalized and ready to take up management of the state’s Gray wolf population. The future of the Gray wolf is in thier hands.

“I don’t think wildlife should be owned by anyone. This is a major problem. People tend to treat animals as things that should be managed to suit our human purposes. However, any legislation, international, federal, or local, that gives animals protection can only be good.” ~ Jane Goodall, DBE, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace, and cast member in the award-winning People & Wolves, a story of coexistence.