UP Michigan Residents Complain About Wolves

Written By - Tom Remington - 07/6/2007

Link to Original Article here

Michigan was one of the states that recently had its population of gray wolves removed from the Endangered Species Act list, yet the state has done nothing different in easing protection of the animal and residents in the Upper Peninsula want something done about that.

At a meeting recently at the Ironwood Public Safety Department building with State Rep. Mike Lahti, D-Hancock, and Kevin Green, R-Wyoming, residents had a chance to sound off about wolf problems and that they did.

Ten wolves have been killed near the Bessemer area farm of John Koski. He's lost livestock and gets no reimbursement for it.

Koski said he lost at least 12 calves and heifers this year, but the DNR offered to pay for only one animal.

"I haven't collected a dime (on losses) in 10 years," Koski said.

Neighboring states of Minnesota and Wisconsin make some kind of provision to reimburse ranchers for losses of livestock to to wolf predation. Evidently Michigan does not.

State officials say that there are between 500 and 600 wolves living in the UP but residents dispute that number.

"When did they quit reproducing?" asked Doc Schwartz, of Bessemer. He said in Saskatchewan, there are 5,000 wolves and 1,000 are killed by hunters every year. The U.P.'s wolf population is greater per square mile than in the wilds of Canada, he contended.

It appears that Michigan law provides for a wolf to be killed if it is threatening a human but not a dog. This, according to some reports, has caused bear hunters with dogs to avoid the UP because of wolves killing hunting dogs. Consequently the bear population is on the rise as well. Bears also kill livestock, presenting an even greater problem to local livestock growers.

Between an overblown wolf population and an increasing bear population, hunters say deer numbers are dropping and they are not returning to the UP to hunt, costing the local economy a lot of money.

Before any changes can be made, the Michigan Legislature needs to change the laws that would allow for people to protect their pets. Many feel it is time for the state to make provisions for an annual wolf hunt to be used to control wolf numbers.