After Wisconsin’s inaugural season of wolf hunting and trapping last fall, the state’s wolf population has declined only slightly.

The 2013 Wisconsin wolf count indicates there are a minimum of 809 to 834 wolves in the state, including 215 packs and 15 lone wolves, according to Department of Natural Resources officials. The count compares to the 2012 estimate that ranged from 815 to 880 wolves, including 213 packs and 20 lone wolves.

“The thing people were concerned about was whether the recent hunting and trapping seasons would have a depressing effect on the wolf population, and I don’t see that in the numbers and the number of packs,” said Ken Jonas, DNR area wildlife supervisor at Hayward.

Last fall, hunters and trappers took 117 wolves statewide.

Wildlife officials said all known wolf mortalities for 2012 fell within expected ranges, including 117 from hunting and trapping, 76 from depredation control, 24 from vehicle collisions, 21 from illegal kills, and five from unknown causes.

Howard Goldman, Minnesota state director for the Humane Society of the United States, said the total wolf mortality in Wisconsin is too high.

“It constitutes almost 30 percent of the population,” Goldman said. “Therefore, I’m very concerned that it’s going to cause a significant reduction in the population. The tipping point I’ve heard over and over is 30 percent. Once they hit 30 percent (mortality), there’s a real possibility the population will decline quickly.”

Goldman and the HSUS had testified against holding a wolf season in Wisconsin.

Wolf research in other states has shown that in most cases, a wolf population can be sustained if the human-caused mortality is no higher than 30 percent, said L. David Mech, wolf biologist with the University of Minnesota and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Wisconsin’s 2013 count represents the fourth time since 1985 that no increase was detected in the wolf population from the previous year, DNR officials said. Wolf counts have been conducted in Wisconsin since 1979-1980 when 25 wolves were counted in the state.

“Generally, the wolf population increased at a rate of 20 percent or more in the 1990s, and at a 10 to 12 percent rate in 2000s,” said David MacFarland, DNR carnivore specialist. “Though the recent count suggests that the wolf population has stabilized or showed a slight decline, science suggests that human-caused wolf mortalities must reach close to 30 percent before wolf populations are reduced. The total known human-caused mortalities of wolves in 2012 amounted to 28 percent of the previous winter’s count, but some level of undetected mortality likely occurred.”

The wolf count relies on a combination of radio-telemetry, pilot observations and winter track counts conducted by staff and trained volunteers across wolf range in Wisconsin, McFarland said. The count is conducted at a time when the wolf population is at its lowest point in the annual cycle. The population nearly doubles when pups are born, but mortalities of adults and young bring those numbers down by the following winter.

The state’s wolf management objectives for 2012 were to ensure a sustainable wolf population and to begin to reduce the wolf population through depredation control, hunting and trapping.

The Wolf Advisory Committee, a diverse group representing DNR, hunting and non-hunting interests, will meet May 23 to develop 2013 wolf quota recommendations.

A group called the Minnesota Backcountry Hunters and Anglers has written a letter to Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Landwehr asking that the agency increase the number of Hunter Walking Trails. The DNR maintains Hunter Walking Trails in the forested region of the state. The non-motorized trails are used mostly by grouse hunter

The group said the letter was signed by 200 people.

Here’s a copy of the letter:

“We write as avid hunters, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts on behalf of the Minnesota Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA), a group formed with the goal of protecting our public lands, waters, and wildlife from threats like the ever-increasing specter of motorized overuse and abuse. We seek to maintain high-quality habitat and hunting experiences, as well as a strong code of fair chase ethics. BHA members share the values of solitude, tradition, challenge, freedom, health, and family, and want to ensure that our public lands are preserved for future generations of hunters and others.

“We strongly commend the DNR’s Hunter Walking Trails (HWT) program and would like to see it expanded. Enclosed are signatures from 200 Minnesota hunters who feel the same way, collected at the Minnesota Deer Classic. We had many conversations with hunters and others angered that their hunts are, with increasing frequency, being wrecked by ATV thrill-riders, and we heard too many stories about increasing habitat and trail degradation. Many of our signers were ATV owners. They like to use their ATVs in a legal and limited fashion and are angry at scofflaws. Some didn’t use their ATVs in the course of hunting at all.

“As you know, state forests are heavily tilted toward ATV use. Because only a small percentage of state forests are closed to ATVs, we feel strongly that the percentage should be increased. Many of us use HWT areas regularly and have high quality hunting experiences there, and we can say from boots-on-the-ground experience and observation that they are popular. Minnesota hunters need more such places.

“We are not asking that Minnesota’s public lands exclude ATV use. There is a place on some public lands for responsible and legal ATV use. However, we seek a more balanced distribution of outdoor opportunity, one that reflects both the desires of Minnesota’s hunters and other outdoor users, one that recognizes the sound scientific evidence clearly documenting that the increasing lattice of motorized trails leads to fish and game habitat degradation and the loss of hunting opportunity for everyone.

“Thank you for your efforts to protect wildlands and wildlife for future generations of hunters and anglers and other outdoorsmen and women.”

Dogs wearing their caps on a hike near Phoenix. (Sam Cook photo)

I was hiking with friends near Phoenix over the weekend when I saw these two dogs wearing caps. I asked the woman who was walking them if I could take the photo. I just hadn’t seen dogs wearing baseball caps before. The woman told me the caps serve a dual purpose. The first is keeping the sun out of their eyes (sort of, maybe, not really). The second is that there’s a sleeve in the top of the cap where the owner can insert a wet sponge to help cool the dog. I’ll have to take her word on that one.

I once put a pair of boxer shorts on a dog I had in college, and I’ve momentarily clamped a pair of fuzzy reindeer antlers on my current yellow Lab for a Christmas photo. But I hadn’t really thought about a baseball cap.

Deadline is fast approaching to buy tickets for the annual banquet of the Lake Superior chapter of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association. The banquet will be held April 18 at the Buffalo House, and deadline to purchase tickets, $55 for adults, is Friday. Call Wayne Suronen at (218) 389-6246.

Although a lot of snow has fallen across northern Minnesota since early February, the Winter Severity Index compiled by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources remains below average, said Tom Rusch, DNR area wildlife manager at Tower.

“Winter severity, specifically snow depth and duration of snow cover, is the most critical factor affecting white-tailed deer survival in the northern forest,” Rusch said. “Deer movement is now heavily restricted, especially up in the border country. Deer are in heavy conifer cover. With restricted mobility, wolf predation will increase as the tables have now turned against deer. Until mid-February, deer had excellent mobility, and wolves were at a disadvantage, in all but the northern most parts of St Louis County.”

The winter of 2012-13 has abruptly changed since the last Winter Severity Index report in early February, Rusch said. More than 30 inches of snow has fallen in the last month in northern St Louis County, with three storms in the 6-inch-plus category. For northern forest whitetails, the going has gotten tougher. All snow measurement stations are currently over the 15-inch mark, one of the thresholds the DNR uses in computing its Winter Severity Index. The other threshold is the number of days when the temperature reaches zero or below.

As of March 12, snow depth readings were 24 inches at Greaney, 22 inches at Snowbank Lake near Ely, 20 inches in Tower and 18 inches in Eveleth.

“If winter and snow pack fade in late March, the 2013 fawn crop should still be a good one in most of northern St. Louis County,” Rusch said.

Wisconsin’s public meeting this Saturday kicking off implementation of the state’s Deer Trustee Repor Report, will also be available for viewing live online, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

The live Webcast of the meeting will be viewable at http://dnrmedia.wi.gov/main/Viewer/?peid=086ffe649e65430890745813ba372a861d.

The meeting will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at UW-Stevens Point’s Lee S. Dreyfus University Center. It is the first of seven meetings to develop action items for implementing recommendations in the 2012 report. The ultimate goal, DNR officials say, is to enhance deer management in the state.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources reminds hunters that the spring conservation action — hunting season — on “light” geese (snow geese, blue-phased snow geese, and the smaller Ross’s goose) will open Friday and run through April 30.

The action is allowed under a federal conservation order that permits the take of “light” geese during the spring. The season is in place to try to reduce the population of snow geese and Ross’s geese that breed in the Arctic coastal areas and around Hudson Bay. High populations of these birds have caused considerable habitat damage to these fragile ecosystems.

A spring light goose permit is required and may be obtained through any DNR license agent. The $3.50 application fee covers the cost to issue the permit. No other license, stamp, or permit is required.

Most regulations in place during fall waterfowl season also will apply during the spring season, including nontoxic shot requirements and federal baiting regulations. In addition, all refuges closed to either duck or goose hunting during fall seasons will remain closed during the spring season. Shooting hours are one half-hour before sunrise until one half-hour after sunset. No daily or possession limits apply. Electronic calls and unplugged shotguns are allowed.

Minnesota has participated in this spring conservation action each year since 2000 and harvest of light geese has varied from a few hundred to several thousand birds each spring.

“Minnesota is on the extreme eastern edge of the spring migration corridor for snow geese through the Upper Midwest,” said Steve Cordts, DNR waterfowl specialist. “In addition, March weather, particularly snow and ice conditions, have a major impact on spring migration, migration routes, and migration timing of snow geese in Minnesota.”

The Humane Society of the United States and a coalition of other groups have filed suit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over its decision to remove gray wolves in the western Great Lakes region from the protections of the Endangered Species Act, the Humane Society announced today.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s most recent decision to delist wolves became effective last year, after multiple previous attempts to delist wolves were struck down by the courts over the course of the last decade.

“The decision threatens the small, fragile population of gray wolves by confining wolves to a tightly confined area of the Great Lakes region – where state wildlife managers are intent on reducing wolf numbers and halting natural expansion of the species – and thus preventing the wolves’ recovery throughout a meaningful portion of its historic range,” the Humane Society wrote in a news release announcing the suit.

Following delisting last year, both Minnesota and Wisconsin established wolf hunting seasons. Minnesota hunters and trappers took a total of 412 wolves, and Wisconsin hunters and trappers took 117. Minnesota’s pre-hunt wolf population was estimated at 3,000, and Wisconsin’s was about 850. Minnesota wildlife officials say wolves in the state are a renewable natural resource.