Nov. 4 Wolf Hunt Vote Outcome May Not Matter

Michigan voters will decide two ballot questions on wolf hunting when they go to the polls Tuesday, but the outcome of the election may not matter much.

Both proposals ask voters to affirm or reject the state law that allowed a hunting season for the gray wolf, which had made a comeback after being hunted and trapped to near extinction.

On one side of the wolf hunting debate are those who argue the wolves are predators that kill family pets and livestock and are fearlessly roaming communities. Conservationists argue that gray wolves were only taken off the endangered species list in 2012, and it’s too soon to start culling their numbers.

Even if a majority of voters disapprove of 2012 and 2013 laws that allowed wolf hunting, their votes are trumped by legislation approved this year after the anti-hunting groups gathered enough signatures to put Proposal 1 and Proposal 2 on the ballot, the Detroit Free Press reports.

The legislation, which includes a $1 million appropriation that makes it referendum-proof, doesn’t guarantee a wolf hunt. Rather, it leaves the decision on whether to declare a wolf season – and all other fish and game seasons in Michigan – up to the Natural Resources Commission and its professional staff.

Tell Us:

• Do you support or oppose wolf hunting in Michigan?

During last year’s wolf hunt, 22 of the estimated 650 wolves living mostly on the Upper Peninsula were killed in November and December. The limit was 43. More than 1,200 hunters were licensed in the inaugural hunt.

Nancy Warren, Great Lakes regional director of the National Wolfwatch Coalition, told the Free Press that anti-wolf hunting advocates think the legislative maneuvering is unconstitutional and may challenge it in court. Rejection of wolf hunting at the polls could help them persuade enough legislators to their side, Warren said.

“It’s very critical to send a strong message to the Legislature that the public does not want to see the wolf listed as a game species,” Warren said.

Drew Youngdyke of Michigan United Conservation Clubs told WJBK, Channel 2 that hunting is an effective management tool that protects people, pets and livestock. “We are very much pro-hunting as method of managing wildlife,” he said.

However, Jill Fritz, director of Keep Michigan Wolves Protected, said the argument that hunting seasons are needed for protection are moot. “Problem wolves can already be removed or killed,” Fritz said. “And that is the method that works in addressing the few conflicts that occur.”

“Yes’ votes on the proposals are in favor of wolf hunting, and “no” votes are against it.

Regardless of what happens Tuesday, there won’t be a 2014 wolf hunt. The Natural Resources Commission said the wolf population is down from 658 in 2013 and 687 in 2012, but up significantly from 20 in 1992, according to a report in The Detroit News .

“Even if the referendums are passed, there would not be time to establish a wolf hunt in 2014,” said Commissioner John Matonich.

Related:

• Do You Support Wolf Hunting: Take the Patch Poll
• Critics Say Third Wolf Petition Circumvents Court of Public Opinion

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Photo via Creative Commons