EDITORIAL: Moving forward with wolf management

In November 2022, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) released a long overdue Draft Wolf Management Plan reflecting the remarkable recovery of wolves in our state, new science and field experience, and growing social acceptance of wolves by the public. The November 2022 draft plan replaces a 1999 management plan written at a time when there were less than 200 wolves in Wisconsin.

Wolves in Wisconsin today are a conservation success story. Wolves have recovered from being eliminated in the 1950s, to a mostly stable population today with almost 1,000 animals that have occupied most favorable habitat. We can live with wolves if we are willing to do the work to balance competing interests and consider the needs of all stakeholders, using the best available science. Those stakeholders today include farmers, ranchers and other rural residents living in wolf country, Native American tribes with important legal rights and spiritual values, and all Wisconsin citizens who value conservation and wildlife.