Wolf pups at a den site in Wisconsin. Photo from Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
The Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi people consider wolves to be sacred and a relative to humans. Melissa Smith, the president and executive director of Friends of the Wisconsin Wolf, warns of the dangers facing the gray wolf in the Wisconsin Legislature:
I could tell you that with Act 169 in Wisconsin, many stakeholders, including the tribes and environmental advocacy voices were removed from any sort of decision-making process. The science committee was disbanded and tribal and university biologists were replaced with hunting lobby groups. The law makes any sort of compromise impossible because it restricts discussion of protection of the wolf. A few key tenets are missing such as core habitat protection areas, refuges and buffer zones, which are critical for long term sustainability of wolves in the Great Lakes. I could tell you we may agree that the population trajectory of wolves in the Great Lakes has been going in a positive direction over the last few decades under ESA protection but, it may be premature to delist the wolf from the ESA at this time, where meaningful discussion between stakeholders has been disallowed and scientific discussion has been replaced by anti-wolf agendas. It is irresponsible not to consider the social issues that drove wolves to the brink of extinction in the past. I could also tell you human intolerance has been the greatest threat to wolves and continues to express itself through politics and the extremely aggressive wolf killing management plans that seem to presumptively be part of delisting. Basing wolf recovery on plans that set benchmarks for the lowest viable numbers is dated and irresponsible.Get the Story:
Melissa Smith: The Grey Wolf Is Just As Endangered As the Wisconsin Environment (Indian Country Today 2/25)
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