By Adrian Wydeven, Northland College Timber Wolf Advisory Council, for the Wisconsin State Journal:
CABLE—Senate Bill 602, and its companion Assembly Bill712, would be a major setback in responsible wildlife conservation and proper management of the state wolf population.
The lawmakers sponsoring this legislation are misusing their role and responsibility in protecting this public resource. The state, serving as a trustee of wildlife, has been a major factor in the successful recovery of species such as deer, elk, waterfowl and turkeys over the last century. The proper management of wildlife as a public resource has contributed significantly to successful wildlife conservation.
This bill encourages disregard for laws governing endangered and protected wildlife. The bill encourages the killing of wolves without justification, and it ignores the state’s role in managing the gray wolf, an important international resource in North America. To read entire op-ed.