DNR Releases Wolf Population Estimates

Tuesday, October 17th, 2023 -- 8:05 AM

(Paul Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) -The population of gray wolves in Wisconsin was estimated at 1,007 last winter, a year-over-year increase of 4%, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

According to Paul Smith with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the number of wolf packs was down slightly, from 288 in 2021-22 to 283 in 2022-23. The number of Wisconsin farms with confirmed wolf conflicts also declined.

The agency noted 18 farms had wolf conflicts with livestock during the reporting period, the lowest number in 15 years. The DNR produces an annual report on the state's wolf population. On Monday the agency published on its website its most recent wolf monitoring assessment.

It covers April 15, 2022, through April 14, 2023. The DNR's latest wolf assessment shows the species' population in Wisconsin has increased slightly after a Feb. 2021 hunting and trapping season killed 218 wolves.

However, the 2022-23 estimate is still 16% lower than the record high of 1,195 in 2019-20. No wolf hunting or trapping season has occurred since February 2021 due to a successful in-state lawsuit by wolf advocates in October 2021 and a federal district judge's decision in February 2022 that returned the wolf in Wisconsin and many other states to protections of the federal Endangered Species Act.

The DNR's 2022-23 wolf report comes a week before the agency is set to present its draft Wisconsin Wolf Management Plan to the Natural Resources Board.

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