A gray wolf. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

Federal wildlife regulators have denied petitions submitted by hunting groups that sought to remove or reduce protections for gray wolves in the western Great Lakes region and West Coast states.

The Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation, Wisconsin Bear Hunters’ Association, Michigan Bear Hunters Association and Upper Peninsula Bear Houndsmen Association filed the petitions with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in June 2023.

The groups argued the agency should designate and delist distinct populations of gray wolves in the western Great Lakes region and the West Coast because the animals have recovered. They said removing federal protections for wolves was warranted in the Great Lakes region, as well as downlisting the wolf’s status from endangered to threatened in West Coast states.

“Based on our review, we find that the petitions do not present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned actions may be warranted,” the agency wrote in its decision.

The Humane Society of the United States celebrated the decision. Amanda Wight, the group’s senior program manager of wildlife protection, said some groups are willing to forgo science to eliminate wolves. She said gray wolves are still absent from most of their historic range.

“The petitions ignored the best available science, which really demonstrates that wolves must be federally protected,” Wight told WPR. “If federal Endangered Species Act protections are taken away, states will almost certainly move to open trophy hunting and recreational trapping seasons.”

Wight noted Wisconsin law mandates a wolf hunt when the animals aren’t under federal protection. She highlighted the state’s February 2021 wolf hunt. State-licensed hunters killed 218 wolves in less than three days, surpassing a quota split between state hunters and Ojibwe tribes.

Carl Schoettel, president of the Wisconsin Bear Hunters’ Association, declined to comment Tuesday until he had a chance to review the agency’s decision.

Todd Adkins, senior vice president of the Sportsmen’s Alliance, said the groups want to see wolves managed effectively, not eliminated. He told WPR the agency’s decision ignores science.

“I can only assume it’s based on politics, because the data is clear. Gray wolves in the western Great Lakes have far exceeded recovery goals that have been established for a very long time,” Adkins said. “The people of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan have been dealing with relative overabundance and the problems associated with over abundance in some areas because they remain fully protected under the ESA.”

Wisconsin had 98 verified wolf conflicts last year, according to data from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. That’s up from 78 in 2023 and 59 in 2022. Last year, 31 farms reported 63 verified complaints involving livestock, representing a tiny fraction of the state’s 58,500 farms.

Adkins said the agency failed to act on the petitions for more than a year until groups sued in September to compel a decision. He said they’re reviewing options for a legal challenge.

The groups argued that gray wolves have long exceeded goals laid out in a 1992 wolf recovery plan, which called for a self-sustaining population of 100 to 200 wolves outside of Minnesota. Around 4,400 wolves are found in the Great Lakes region, as well as nearly 2,800 wolves in seven western states.

Wight said that plan is vastly outdated. Federal wildlife regulators are set to release the first-ever national recovery plan for wolves by the end of this year.

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Danielle Kaeding is a reporter who covers the environment, energy and northern Wisconsin at the Superior bureau of Wisconsin Public Radio.