Wolf season over already for the Northwoods

Submitted: 10/24/2013

(But let's not call it successful!) 
 
NORTHWOODS - This year's wolf hunt finished in one week for most of the Northwoods. About a quarter of the wolves harvested so far in the state came out of the Northwoods. So far hunters have killed about one hundred wolves statewide.

Zone 2 consists of Florence, Forest, Langlade, Lincoln, Oneida and Vilas Counties in the Northwoods and had a limit of twenty-eight wolves. Twenty-six of them were killed in the first week. That's why the DNR closed the zone at 3 P.M. on Wednesday.

This season has been off to a fast pace. The number of wolves taken in ONE week this year almost outnumbers last year's entire season. But Tom Hauge, DNR Director of Wildlife Management, says it's still unclear why hunters have been so successful.

"This year the harvest pace seems to be advanced compared to last year and we're not sure what all the reasons [for that] are. Last year, Zone 2, the Northeast part of the state was the first zone to close and so from that perspective it's not out of the ordinary that Zone 2 is the first to close this year."

But Hauge does have some ideas as to why the zone was able to close so quickly. "People who were successful in 2012 [may have] shared some of the methodology that they used in either hunting or trapping with others and so that we have a more informed base of hunters and trappers out there maybe being a little more effective."

He also said hunters and trappers may be out earlier this year, and that conditions for trappers are ideal. A lack of snow on the unfrozen ground can make it easier for someone who traps game.

There's also plenty of information about the state's wolf population online. That helps hunters locate them. But the DNR doesn't think that information is contributing to a faster harvest pace.

"We just show the general boundary of where we think the pack is located," says Hauge. "That might include an entire half county or a quarter of a county. That's not maybe like fishing where we would say go over to this rock pile because that's a really good place to catch blue gills. It doesn't work like that with wolves."

The DNR will send out surveys to the hunters. They won't have a solid understanding of this year's quick success until they can study the survey's results, which should happen sometime in April according to Hauge.

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