Formerly The Outspoken Sportsman

Wolf plan approved

By JOHN PEPIN, Journal Munising Bureau - July 11, 2008
http://www.miningjournal.net/page/content.detail/id/512522.html?nav=5006

With Natural Resources Commission Chairman Keith Charters of Traverse City listening, Michigan Department of Natural Resources Director Rebecca Humphries announces her intention to approve the state’s Wolf Management Plan. The plan was developed over a period of several months with the help of an advisory panel of diverse interests and comments received on a draft from the public. (Journal photo by John Pepin)

MUNISING - Michigan Department of Natural Resources Director Rebecca Humphries granted final approval Thursday of the state's Wolf Management Plan, which outlines provisions for dealing with Michigan's growing wolf population.
The wolf plan was put together over the past several months with the help of the 20-member Michigan Wolf Management Roundtable, a diverse group of often opposing interests that developed a set of principles to help guide wolf management.
"I think the wolf roundtable did an excellent job on this plan," Humphries said Thursday at a meeting of the Natural Resources Commission in Munising.
The new plan updates an original Michigan wolf management plan finalized in 1997 and reflects an extensive review of scientific literature and consultation with wolf experts.
Public input also molded the plan through public meetings and comment periods on the document's draft. Over the past several months, some revisions were made based on the comments to produce the final version Humphries approved Thursday.
Humphries said most of the final changes to the draft centered on relatively minor wording revisions, with the scope, plan and actions of the draft remaining intact.
"It (the draft) was pretty well-constructed," Humphries said.
The draft plan outlines four principal goals, which are to maintain a viable Michigan wolf population above a level that would warrant its classification as threatened or endangered; maintain positive wolf-related interactions at socially acceptable levels; minimize negative wolf-related interactions and conduct wolf management according to methods acceptable to Michigan society.
To help achieve these goals, the plan identifies strategies to address several issues. Some of these issues include information and education, research, regulatory protection, wolf prey and habitat, diseases, human safety, depredation of domestic animals, public harvest, and wolfdog hybrids.
The plan does not allow hunters or trappers to kill wolves, which disappoints some people, including Jay Maki of the Tahquamenon Sportsmens Club in Newberry.
Maki told Humphries and the NRC Thursday he proposes a trapping and firearm season for wolves, based on the DNR estimating the state's wolf population at 520.
Maki said other states have similar seasons, such actions would keep wolf numbers in check and license fees would provide a revenue source for the DNR, while perhaps improving public acceptance of wolves.
"It would involve a large number of sportsmen and sportswomen in wolf management," Maki said.
John Hongisto of Deerton, who served on the roundtable, said he felt no changes were made to the final wolf plan, despite public comment.
Nancy Warren, who lives north of Ewen and represented Defenders of Wildlife on the roundtable, said Thursday she supports the plan.
She is glad the plan does not set "broad numeric abundance goals for the purpose of managing most conflicts."
The plan states that "To the extent it is expected to be effective and logistically feasible, management under this plan will be conducted to prevent and minimize conflicts on a case-by-case basis."
Warren said the plan will protect wolves and minimize conflicts.
Beyond the DNR, setting a hunting or trapping season for wolves would also require changes by the state legislature to make wolves a game species.
Humphries approved the plan with the contingency that the DNR's wildlife division report each year about the wolf population size, distribution and conflicts.
In other action, the NRC approved antlerless deer license quotas for the upcoming white-tailed deer season.
State wildlife officials recommended a total of 66,375 antlerless licenses for public land and 573,200 licenses for private land for the fall deer season, a slight increase from 2007. The recommended quotas are based on an estimated fall deer population of 1,840,000, which is nearly identical to the 2007 population.
In the Upper Peninsula, the recommendation was for 8,000 licenses for public land and 31,000 for private land, down from 10,200 and 35,500 respectively in 2007.
Nearly 50 people spoke during a roughly three-hour public comment session during Thursday's NRC meeting.
Numerous topics were addressed by the speakers ranging from tribal fishing in Munising Bay, pheasant hunting daily start times, sulfide mining on the Yellow Dog Plains and user fees for cross-country ski trails to bear licenses, opposition and advocacy of the state's new buck proposal for the U.P., the Huron River Watershed and a proposed theme park for downstate's Crawford County.
The NRC typically holds one meeting each year in the Upper Peninsula.

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