Wisconsin DNR reduces statewide fall wolf quota to 130

MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced that the statewide quota for the Fall 2021 wolf season has been set at 130 wolves on Monday, Oct. 4 after the department's policy board said 300 wolves in August.

State-licensed hunters and trappers will be authorized to harvest 74 wolves within the six zones stablished in the department's regulations, officials say. The department will also honor the Ojibwe Tribes' treaty right within the Ceded Territory of 56. 

Officials say the department considered the best available information and scientific modeling when determining the quota, as well as the input from the Wolf Harvest Committee, the Natural Resources Board, and the many groups and members of the public who provided comments to the department an the Board.

According to the DNR, the department will use a license ratio of 5:1 to offer the opportunity to 370 successful applicants to purchase a state wolf hunting license. Successful applicants will be notified Oct. 25.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed gray wolves from the federal endangered species list on Jan. 4. The DNR will continue to plan for a wolf harvest season to open on Nov. 6.

The department is also continuing work towards completing a 10-year wolf management plan to guide decisions beginning in 2022.