Gray wolves need your voice.

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It never made sense to me to go from zero to sixty, one day protected, the next hunted. Wisconsin’s gray wolf recovery program was a success, and the population rebounded under state and federal protections. But the wind changed, that is the political wind, in 2011, with legislation backed by Wisconsin’s Bear Hunters (should be called bear hounders) Association, which mandates a wolf hunt when they are not listed on the Endangered Species List.

Can Wisconsin manage its wolf populations responsibly? In 2021, as soon as wolves were delisted, Wisconsin held a wolf hunt. Not only that, but the state allows man’s best friend to be used to hunt down and kill them. This archaic practice, dating back to the dark ages, is sanctioned by the state of Wisconsin. Washington is working to delist the wolf. Let’s all work to stop this!

A federal judge in Missoula on Tuesday, August 6, 2025, vacated the federal government’s determination that gray wolves in the Western United States do not need increased federal protections under the Endangered Species Act.

In the subsequent lawsuits, combined into a single suit before U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy, the conservation groups argued that FWS erred in its decision by failing to consider the “best available science” on wolf populations and the impacts of hunting and trapping; the full extent of the species’ historical range; and the threat posed by inadequate state and federal regulations that often bow to political headwinds.

The future of the gray wolf is under the most drastic human-caused mortality scenarios under state management.

There is a law, Act 169, on the books in Wisconsin that mandates a hunt when gray wolves are not on the Endangered Species List. This law has triggered four hunts, with one as recently as February 2021, and with Gray wolves just fresh off the list. This is an example of how little regard there can be by states for a species just off the list. Wolves are a federally protected species under the Endangered Species Act. But it all depends on political whims.

Hunters use dogs to track and trail wolves, and it is sanctioned by Wisconsin. It’s no secret that Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association members want wolves gone, as they have lobbied for hunting and want the wolf population capped at 350.

We can expect Wisconsin’s Gray wolf to again be the target of fringe trophy hunting organizations such as Hunter Nation, Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association, and Wisconsin Wildlife Federation. These organizations are heavily backed by republicans in favor of the federal delisting of Gray wolves. They want wolves returned to state management, where, again, we will see a repeat of the infamous and brutal Wisconsin February 2021 wolf hunt. Because Wisconsin Act 169 is a law that mandates a wolf hunt when they are not an Endangered Species is still in effect today.

The most unfortunate aspect of this process will be the loss of public education & input: the conservative party will again control wolf management. And, to top it off, anti-wolf fringe hunters will also dominate politics. They will push misinformation instead of science. They will again begin campaigns full of political rhetoric designed to scare the public. The propaganda by anti-wolf politicians & fringe hunters will claim wolves are killing all the deer, and push misinformation that the people in the northwoods don’t want them in their backyards. And push for wolves to be reintroduced in Madison.

Yet is there hope? The DNR has a new updated wolf plan now, and it works to educate and solve conflicts between people and wolves. The plan was unanimously approved by the Natural Resources Board.

Take Action

Contact your state representatives and tell them to remove that law!

2025 Wisconsin State Representatives

https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2025/legislators/assembly

Thank You!