Achievement

We created an individual-based spatially explicit model of wolf harvest in Wisconsin in collaboration with Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission. Wisconsin’s wolf population was delisted from the Federal Endangered Species list and wolf management now includes wolf harvest. WDNR used our model to predict the population impact of different harvest scenarios. During the conversations prior to setting the wolf quota, we were invited to 4 different meetings to explain the model and its prediction of the harvest. People were really trying to use the best-available scientific information to inform their decisions, and it was a real treat to be involved in this process. At the same time, the Ojibwe tribes in Wisconsin feel that the wolves are their brothers and therefore were not supportive of a wolf harvest. We used the same model to understand wolf harvest from a tribal perspective.