Gray Wolf (Canis lupus)
Archived Information - Control of Depredating Wolves in
Wisconsin:
Final Environmental Assessment
ESA Permit
PDF
of entire Environmental Assessment (156
pages)
SUMMARY
OF PROPOSED ACTION
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, Wildlife Services (WS) and the United States Department
of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), in cooperation with
the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), in accordance with
State and Federal regulations and guidance on wolf management, propose
to implement an Integrated Wildlife Damage Management (IWDM) program in
Wisconsin to protect resources from gray wolf (Canis lupus) damage
and promote wolf conservation.
The
agencies prepared this environmental assessment to analyze the environmental
impacts of various alternatives for the management of wolf damage and
wolf conflicts in Wisconsin including the proposed action. This analysis
covers wolf damage actions that could be conducted by the USFWS, WS and
the WDNR while wolves are federally protected under the Endangered Species
Act (ESA). The proposed action includes the USFWS issuing permits for
take of wolves under Section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act.
WS would act as agents of the WDNR which is the agency requesting a permit
for the take of depredating wolves from the USFWS. Under the preferred
alternative, damage management would be conducted on private or public
property in Wisconsin when the resource owners/managers request assistance
to alleviate wolf damage, wolf damage is verified, and agreements have
been completed specifying the details of the damage management action.
The types of wolf conflicts that could be addressed include:
1)
depredation on livestock,
2)
depredation on pets, and
3) potential threats to human safety.
Under
the preferred alternative, the IWDM strategy would encompass the use of
the full range of legal, practical and effective methods of preventing
or reducing damage while minimizing harmful effects of damage management
measures on humans, wolves, other species, and the environment. Under
this action, WS and the WDNR would provide technical assistance and operational
damage management, including non-lethal and lethal management methods
selected after applying the WS Decision Model (Slate et al. 1992). When
appropriate, farm management practices (animal husbandry), frightening
devices, and livestock guarding animals could be recommended and utilized
to reduce wolf damage. In other situations, when the damage situation
and landowner practices meet USFWS and WDNR requirements, wolves would
be removed as humanely as possible using foot-hold traps, foot snares,
cable restraints, and shooting. In determining the damage management strategy,
preference would be given to non-lethal methods when they are deemed practical
and effective. Lethal methods would be used to reduce damage after practical
and appropriate non-lethal methods have been considered and determined
to be ineffective or inappropriate in reducing damage to acceptable levels.
However, non-lethal methods may not always be applied as a first response
to each damage problem. The most appropriate initial response to a wolf
damage problem could be a combination of nonlethal and lethal methods,
or there could be instances where application of lethal methods alone
would be the most appropriate strategy. All wolf damage management would
be conducted in compliance with appropriate federal, state, and local
laws and court-mandated restrictions.
PDF
of entire Environmental Assessment (156 pages)
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