Associated Press
The DNR plans to use the survey results to help update the state’s wolf management plan.
DNR survey shows many do not want to see population reduced
Most Wisconsin residents support a wolf population at least as large as the state has now, according to a draft survey released Tuesday by the Department of Natural Resources. Majority
support for at least maintaining the wolf population was present even
among county residents in "wolf range," the area of Wisconsin where wolf
depredations are most prevalent. The survey
results conflict with a DNR plan to reduce the state's wolves to 350, a
population goal identified in a 1999 wolf management plan.
Following two seasons of regulated wolf hunting and trapping designed to put "downward pressure" on the wolf population, Wisconsin had at least 660 wolves in late winter 2013-'14, down from an estimated high of 834 in 2012.
The mail survey was conducted earlier this year by DNR researchers Bob Holsman, Natalie Kaner and Jordan Petchenik. It sought to measure public opinion about wolves and wolf management among state residents. The information will be used as the agency works to update its wolf management plan.
Dave MacFarland, DNR large carnivore specialist, said the survey will be very helpful to the agency but noted it is "one piece of the puzzle." "I think it's the best assessment of public attitudes on wolves we've had in the state," MacFarland said. "It was a rigorous look at a very complex topic. Our challenge will be to combine it with many other sources of information as we develop the updated plan."
The DNR sent 7,150 surveys to residents in wolf range and 1,600 to households outside wolf range. Fifty-nine percent were returned. For purposes of the survey, wolf range was described as the 35 counties where wolves are most common in the state. The DNR wanted to get a larger sampling from these more rural areas where residents are more likely to be "impacted by wolves."
Most respondents (38%) lived in the country but not on a farm, followed by 17% in large town or village, 15% in small towns, 12% in small city or suburb, 10% on a farm and 7% in a large city.
The surveys were sent out in March and April.
The researchers found state residents held attitudes toward wolves that were more favorable than unfavorable — by a small margin in wolf range and a larger margin outside wolf range. For example, 84% of respondents outside wolf range agreed that wolves are "important members of the ecological community"; 67% of range residents agreed.
Among survey respondents in wolf range, 53% wanted wolf numbers maintained at current levels or increased in their county of residence, while 18% wanted wolves decreased and 15% wanted them eliminated.
Outside of wolf range, 56% wanted wolf numbers maintained or increased statewide. "It's consistent with the tradition of wildlife conservation in Wisconsin," MacFarland said. "People here tend to feel pretty positive toward wildlife and this survey matches up with that."
The gray or timber wolf is native to Wisconsin but largely had vanished by the middle-20th century due to bounties and unlimited hunting. Under protections of the Endangered Species Act, wolves staged a comeback in the state from the 1970s through the 2000s. In 2012 the species was delisted in the region and the state assumed management control.
The Wisconsin Legislature in 2012 put in place a wolf hunting and trapping law that allowed a five-month harvest season and the use of dogs. Hunters and trappers killed 117 wolves in 2012 and 257 in 2013. Last year's kill, combined with natural and other non-hunting sources of mortality, reduced the state's wolf population by 19%, according to the DNR. The agency has set a more modest kill goal of about 150 animals for 2014.
The survey found majority support for a regulated public harvest of wolves in Wisconsin. Forty percent supported a hunting and trapping season as a tool for reducing the wolf population, 26% supported the season as long as it can be sustainable, 21% opposed the season and 17% were undecided.
When asked about priorities for wolf management, 69% placed the highest priority on killing wolves that show aggression or threatening behavior toward people, 53% on eliminating wolves from areas they attacked domestic livestock and 33% opted to create refuge areas to protect wolves.
Most biologists believe the state's biological carrying capacity — what the habitat can support — is more than 1,000 wolves. State residents and officials are now struggling with the social carrying capacity, or what humans will tolerate. "I hope the DNR attends to the fact that the most frequent response to a question about a statewide population goal was maintaining the same numbers of wolves as we have now, not decimating it to critically low numbers as is advocated by some outspoken parties who would like to drive all wolves out of Wisconsin," said Patricia McConnell, a zoologist and animal behaviorist from Madison.
Two groups in the survey — deer hunters and farmers — were most prone to want lower numbers of wolves. Deer hunters living in wolf range wanted fewer wolves in the state (71%) and in their home county (64%) and were less likely to say they were willing to have wolves living near them than were non-hunters in wolf range.
A majority of survey respondents expressed worry about the risk wolves pose to the safety of children (63% in range, 64% outside range) and pets (72% in range, 70% outside range). Those who have been pushing the DNR to reduce wolves to 350 aren't likely to change their position. "There are many social indicators that already exist to show that people in wolf range, and certain groups such as hunters and farmers, are not in favor of maintaining the high level of wolves we have today," said Laurie Groskopf, a hunter and hound owner from Tomahawk. "This is certainly reinforced by data from the wolf opinion survey."
The DNR plans to discuss the survey with members of its Wolf Advisory Committee on Wednesday in Wausau. The agency is scheduled to release a draft of its updated wolf management plan later this year.
source
Following two seasons of regulated wolf hunting and trapping designed to put "downward pressure" on the wolf population, Wisconsin had at least 660 wolves in late winter 2013-'14, down from an estimated high of 834 in 2012.
The mail survey was conducted earlier this year by DNR researchers Bob Holsman, Natalie Kaner and Jordan Petchenik. It sought to measure public opinion about wolves and wolf management among state residents. The information will be used as the agency works to update its wolf management plan.
Dave MacFarland, DNR large carnivore specialist, said the survey will be very helpful to the agency but noted it is "one piece of the puzzle." "I think it's the best assessment of public attitudes on wolves we've had in the state," MacFarland said. "It was a rigorous look at a very complex topic. Our challenge will be to combine it with many other sources of information as we develop the updated plan."
The DNR sent 7,150 surveys to residents in wolf range and 1,600 to households outside wolf range. Fifty-nine percent were returned. For purposes of the survey, wolf range was described as the 35 counties where wolves are most common in the state. The DNR wanted to get a larger sampling from these more rural areas where residents are more likely to be "impacted by wolves."
Most respondents (38%) lived in the country but not on a farm, followed by 17% in large town or village, 15% in small towns, 12% in small city or suburb, 10% on a farm and 7% in a large city.
The surveys were sent out in March and April.
The researchers found state residents held attitudes toward wolves that were more favorable than unfavorable — by a small margin in wolf range and a larger margin outside wolf range. For example, 84% of respondents outside wolf range agreed that wolves are "important members of the ecological community"; 67% of range residents agreed.
Among survey respondents in wolf range, 53% wanted wolf numbers maintained at current levels or increased in their county of residence, while 18% wanted wolves decreased and 15% wanted them eliminated.
Outside of wolf range, 56% wanted wolf numbers maintained or increased statewide. "It's consistent with the tradition of wildlife conservation in Wisconsin," MacFarland said. "People here tend to feel pretty positive toward wildlife and this survey matches up with that."
The gray or timber wolf is native to Wisconsin but largely had vanished by the middle-20th century due to bounties and unlimited hunting. Under protections of the Endangered Species Act, wolves staged a comeback in the state from the 1970s through the 2000s. In 2012 the species was delisted in the region and the state assumed management control.
The Wisconsin Legislature in 2012 put in place a wolf hunting and trapping law that allowed a five-month harvest season and the use of dogs. Hunters and trappers killed 117 wolves in 2012 and 257 in 2013. Last year's kill, combined with natural and other non-hunting sources of mortality, reduced the state's wolf population by 19%, according to the DNR. The agency has set a more modest kill goal of about 150 animals for 2014.
The survey found majority support for a regulated public harvest of wolves in Wisconsin. Forty percent supported a hunting and trapping season as a tool for reducing the wolf population, 26% supported the season as long as it can be sustainable, 21% opposed the season and 17% were undecided.
When asked about priorities for wolf management, 69% placed the highest priority on killing wolves that show aggression or threatening behavior toward people, 53% on eliminating wolves from areas they attacked domestic livestock and 33% opted to create refuge areas to protect wolves.
Most biologists believe the state's biological carrying capacity — what the habitat can support — is more than 1,000 wolves. State residents and officials are now struggling with the social carrying capacity, or what humans will tolerate. "I hope the DNR attends to the fact that the most frequent response to a question about a statewide population goal was maintaining the same numbers of wolves as we have now, not decimating it to critically low numbers as is advocated by some outspoken parties who would like to drive all wolves out of Wisconsin," said Patricia McConnell, a zoologist and animal behaviorist from Madison.
Two groups in the survey — deer hunters and farmers — were most prone to want lower numbers of wolves. Deer hunters living in wolf range wanted fewer wolves in the state (71%) and in their home county (64%) and were less likely to say they were willing to have wolves living near them than were non-hunters in wolf range.
A majority of survey respondents expressed worry about the risk wolves pose to the safety of children (63% in range, 64% outside range) and pets (72% in range, 70% outside range). Those who have been pushing the DNR to reduce wolves to 350 aren't likely to change their position. "There are many social indicators that already exist to show that people in wolf range, and certain groups such as hunters and farmers, are not in favor of maintaining the high level of wolves we have today," said Laurie Groskopf, a hunter and hound owner from Tomahawk. "This is certainly reinforced by data from the wolf opinion survey."
The DNR plans to discuss the survey with members of its Wolf Advisory Committee on Wednesday in Wausau. The agency is scheduled to release a draft of its updated wolf management plan later this year.
source
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