Wolf hunt grey areas addressed

By David Horst  sandhill7@gmail.com 

Not many people are neutral on Wisconsin’s wolf hunt. They represent nature free and wild to you. Or they are a threat to be feared by you.

What if you owned livestock in an area where wolves roam? What if your cultural traditions held them to be sacred?

These and other points of view will be explored fully at a program on Wisconsin’s wolves 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, at Mosquito Hill Nature Center, N3880 Rogers Rd., New London. It is a chance to harden your position on wolves or better understand the other side of the issue.


I’m not really objective because I serve on the committee that selected the speakers and work at the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, which manages the Charlotte Bates Fenlon Memorial Speaker Fund that covers the costs, but I’m excited to hear this discussion.

It will start with the facts. David MacFarland, a Ph.D. carnivore researcher who is the Department of Natural Resources’ management of the state’s wolves, bears and cougars, will outline the current status of the wolf population following the state’s first modern wolf hunt in a talk entitled “Wisconsin Wolves: From Recovery to Harvest.” MacFarland is new to the job, replacing the state’s longtime alpha wolf man Adrian Wydeven, who shifted to the Bureau of Endangered Resources.

Part of MacFarland’s marching orders is to bring the costs of the wolf monitoring program more in line with those for other species, using more ground-monitoring techniques and less radio telemetry from airplanes. He will discuss wolf ecology and management over the last 100 years, including the hunting and trapping of wolves and other recent policy changes.

MacFarland can address the question: How many is too many?

A panel discussion following his talk will add a variety of points of view to the discussion.

Don Reiter, a wildlife biologist for the Menominee Tribal Fish and Wildlife Conservation Department, can discuss wolf management with a spiritual component. The Menoninee, like other tribes, opposes the wolf hunt.

Eric Koens from the northwest Wisconsin city of Bruce, adds the perspective of someone whose livelihood could be threatened by a large wolf population. He’s a rancher and a member of the Wisconsin Cattlemen's Association.

Nancy Warren, regional director for the National Wolfwatcher Coalition, is flat out a wolf advocate who likely has a different take on how many is too many.

Jeff Giese of Stevens Point is responsible for how many being one less than it might have been. He successfully trapped a wolf in the state’s wolf hunt. He will discuss trapping techniques and, no doubt, face questions about whether the practice is inhumane.

Audience members will have the opportunity to submit written questions to MacFarland and the panelists.

Hunting with dogs? How did the wolves get back in Wisconsin? Are the Brothers Grimm or the hell-bent for preservationists closer to the truth about wolves?

How many is too many?

All of those questions are fair game.

I’ve always said to let the science decide. This fully packed evening of wolf talk will give you a look at how objective or reliable the science is.

Add your voice but, please, no howling.




IF YOU GO:
PLACE: Mosquito Hill Nature Center
DATE:  Friday, September 13, 2013
TIME: 7 p.m. program with discussion panel; reception to follow
TICKETS: $15 per person in advance
Tickets may be purchased at Mosquito Hill Nature Center
N3880 Rogers Rd., New London, WI 54961
(920) 779-6433
www.mosquitohill.com