In an unprecedented move of rejecting a Natural Resources Board decision, the DNR has announced a quota of 130 for the wolf hunt
Paul A. Smith
In an unprecedented move, the Department of Natural Resources announced Monday it set a quota of 130 wolves for the 2021 Wisconsin fall wolf hunting and trapping season, less than half as many as the Natural Resources Board approved in August.
It's the first time the DNR has altered a quota after the NRB had voted on one, according to long-time DNR employees, past board members and the agency itself.
The action underscores the contentious relationship between top department officials and a majority of the current board.
It's also the latest salvo in an ongoing dispute over wolf management in the state.
The NRB, the seven-member citizen board that sets policy for the DNR, voted at its Aug. 11 meeting for a 300 wolf quota.
The decision by a 5-2 vote overruled a DNR recommendation of 130.
The DNR then refused to send staff or submit action items for the agenda at the board's September meeting; NRB chairman Fred Prehn cancelled the meeting.
The agency also declined to hold a drawing for wolf licenses as planned by mid-September.
The issue remained in limbo until Monday's announcement.
As part of the 130 quota, the DNR said state-licensed hunters and trappers would be authorized to take 74 wolves and the department would honor Ojibwe tribes’ treaty rights for 56 wolves in the Ceded Territory.
Further, the department said it would select 370 wolf permit applicants (a 5:1 ratio of kill permits to quota) through a drawing. Licenses would go on sale Oct. 25.
The season is scheduled to open Nov. 6.
However, two lawsuits have been filed to stop the hunt. One, by Ojibwe tribes, has a hearing Oct. 29 in federal court. The tribes are seeking a preliminary injunction to block the wolf season.
It's also possible the NRB will contest the DNR's move.
Prehn did not immediately respond to questions Monday afternoon. But board member Greg Kazmierski of Pewaukee said the DNR was out of line.
“They are not free to just do that,” Kazmierski said in comments to The Associated Press. “It’s in violation of the statute that establishes the board."
Experts on Monday were surprised by the DNR's announcement.
"It's never been done," said George Meyer, who retired in 2002 from the DNR after a 30-year career, including as a staff lawyer and secretary. "It's not that there weren't disagreements, but they were always worked out. This is a real mess."
Meyer blamed the rancor on some members of the board as well as top DNR officials.
Tensions between the board and DNR spiked earlier this year when Prehn, who was appointed in 2015 by former Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, refused to vacate his NRB position even though his six-year term expired May 1.
The move has denied Sandra Nass, an appointee of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, her place on the board and has allowed Republican appointees to maintain a 4-3 majority.
Senate Republicans have also roiled the partisan waters by refusing to hold a confirmation hearing for Nass.
At the August board meeting, DNR Secretary Preston Cole accused Prehn of improperly lingering on the board and "putting his finger on the scale" to affect the outcome of votes.
Cole was also critical of the board earlier this summer when it voted 4-3 to overrule the department and local county deer advisory councils on the number of antlerless deer permits in several northern counties.
Now the DNR has responded with an attempt to defy the board.
When asked Monday if there was precedent for the DNR's move, Sarah Hoye, DNR communications director, said in an email "we are not aware of that happening previously."
But the DNR said it was "authorized by state statute and the department’s rules to make the final decision" on the quota.
In support of that claim, Hoye pointed to Wisconsin statute 29.185(1m) which reads: “In regulating wolf hunting and trapping, the department may limit the number of wolf hunters and trappers and the number of wolves that may be taken by issuing wolf harvesting licenses.”
In addition, she referenced NR 10.145(1m) of the Wisconsin Administrative Code which states "The wolf harvest quota shall be determined annually by the department” and 10.145(1u) “The number of wolf harvesting licenses shall be determined annually by the department.”
However, this would be the first time the DNR exercised such authority.
Deer and bear quotas, for example, are determined annually. All have been set by NRB votes.
And in each of the four previous Wisconsin wolf hunting and trapping seasons (2012-14 and Feb. 2021), the NRB had the last say.