On Wisconsin Outdoors (OWO) on
October 6 requested specific details
from the Wisconsin DNR after nine
wolves were recently euthanized in northern
Wisconsin by USDA Wildlife Services after
verified threats to human health and safety.
“The Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources can confirm that nine wolves
were recently trapped and humanely
euthanized by USDA Wildlife Services in
northern Price County,” Molly Meister,
Public Affairs Section Manager, DNR
Office of Communications responded via
email. “The DNR made the decision to
pursue euthanasia in response to a series of
verified threats to human health and safety
in rural northern Price County that were
first reported in July 2025 and continued
through August 2026.”
Initially, numerous non-lethal measures
recommended by the DNR and adopted
by local residents including auditory
harassment, hazing, increased lighting,
removal of potential attractants, and
increased human activity failed to resolve
the threat. “Reports demonstrated a pattern
of behavioral escalation, with the wolves
showing less response to hazing and more
acclimation to human presence,” Meister
wrote.
Meister stated that lethal removal
actions were taken in late August and early
September 2026 under authorities given to
the DNR for wolf management activities
through the Endangered Species Act in
cooperative agreement with the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service. The DNR consulted
with the USFWS throughout the process.
The DNR also worked with the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service to transfer the
remains of the euthanized wolves to the
Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife
Commission (GLIFWC) so the wolves may
be appropriately and respectfully handled
consistent with cultural beliefs of Ojibwe
and other tribes.
According to media reports, after
meeting with tribal officials upset with
the euthanasia, Wisconsin DNR Secretary
Karen Hyun issued a statement of apology
October 7 stating, “I am deeply sorry for
the DNR’s lack of community with tribal
nations and GLIFWC in this process. I am
committed to improving our collaboration
and communication with the tribes around
wolf conflicts going forward.”
On Wisconsin Outdoors publishers
strongly disagree with that statement.
Hyun’s apology provides ongoing evidence
that new leadership is imperative at
the DNR. We believe that state tribe
representing less than one half of one
percent of Wisconsin’s population have not
been forthright in their significant input
specific to wolf management in Wisconsin
over many years. The tribes ongoing
protection of a skyrocketing wolf population
has directly led to decimated deer numbers
in northern Wisconsin and the destruction
of the hunting culture and heritage of the
vast majority of non-tribal state residents.
In addition, the DNR has consistently
and unlawfully demonstrated preferential
treatment to the tribal minority in wolf
management issues over the vast majority
of Wisconsin residents. To receive at no cost
OWO’s “Wolf Tracks” PDF of our ongoing
investigative reporting of DNR and tribal
mismanagement of wolves, connect with
wolves@onwisconsinoutdoors.com.
