HAZELHURST, Wis. (WSAU-WXPR) — The date is set for the Great Lakes Wolf Summit from State Senator Tom Tiffany and Representative Adam Jarchow.
Tiffany, the Hazelhurst Republican, said, “We’ll have legislators from Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin there and we want to talk about the growth and population of wolves and the impact on people. Especially people in northern Wisconsin and our neighboring states.”
Tiffany says the goal is to move Congress to give population control back to the states…
“What this is is a grass-roots effort to deliver the message to Congressional representatives that this is the time to change this,” said Senator Tiffany.
“Senator [Ron] Johnson has a bill he’s introduced. Congressman [Reid] Ribble has a bill that he has introduced that would give management back to the states. That’s really what needs to happen.”
Registration for the September 15th summit will begin July 20th. The event is set for Das Lach(lock) House in Cumberland.
Due to a Federal court decision, wolves in the western Great Lakes area were relisted under the Endangered Species Act in December, 2014. Prior to that time, states were given the authority to regulate wolf populations. Tiffany has been a proponent for a wolf hunt and deadly control methods, saying that the uncontrolled population will negatively impact the ecosystem and cause risk to lives of humans and livestock. Conservation groups say the wolf population in the region is beginning to return to levels they once enjoyed. Wisconsin’s Native American tribes also protested Wisconsin’s wolf hunts during the time the wolf was delisted from federal protections, saying the animal is sacred to them.
A population study from the DNR has recorded the largest population of wolves in the state’s recorded history.
Interview by Ken Krall, WXPR.
