Delist the Gray Wolf
"Learn the true wolf story."
People ask, why do we need to manage wolf populations by hunting?
The answer is simple.
Wolves are apex predators, meaning no animals kill wolves except man. A mature wolf eats more than 22 elk per year. If their diet is deer, they eat 30-50 of those per year. If moose is on their menu, each wolf eats nearly 20 per year.
Unmanaged wolf populations very quickly destroy the delicate balance of nature’s habitat and carrying capacity. Managing predator populations, especially apex predators like the wolf, is extremely important if we are to maintain this delicate balance. Predictably, the federal government has failed on this issue. It should be left to each state to manage all wildlife within their state borders, including the wolf.
Too many wolves will result in too few, and ultimately, no prey populations. Hunters, and true nature lovers, want to see abundant and healthy populations of all wild animals. As beautiful as wolves are, can we not agree that deer, elk, and moose are also beautiful. It would be tragic to allow the unmanaged wolf path to continue, as the result would be further decimation of and possibly the extinction of deer, elk, and moose. It is up to us to strike a balance and manage all wildlife, predator, and prey alike.
The chart and graph displayed here shows just how detrimental unmanaged wolf populations are. With wolf populations exploding at the rate of nearly 750%. Meanwhile, elk populations are down 75%, moose populations are down 80%, and deer harvest numbers are down over 55%. These trends are unsustainable.
Due to unmanaged populations, wolves are a real threat to wildlife, hunting and more...
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Take Action Today
We need you to contact US Senator Tammy Baldwin and urge her to VOTE YES and Delist the Gray Wolf with NO judicial review!
Hunter Nation Support
We supported Congressman Tom Tiffany (WI-7) and Congresswoman Lauren Boebert’s (CO-03) “Trust the Science” bill, that calls for the delisting of the gray wolf, with no judicial review. With Hunter Nation’s support and effort, that bill was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last month. The bill is now in the U.S. Senate and Hunter Nation is working hard to make this much needed, science based conservation legislation, the law of the land. However, we can’t do it alone. Hunter Nation needs your help to get this bill passed!
Hunters Call to Action
Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin may ultimately cast the deciding vote. I’m asking you to reach out to her and let her know that, as a hunter, this is an important issue to you and your family. Let her know that Wisconsin had the lowest gun hunting deer harvest in recorded history, in 2023, due to the unmanaged wolf population. Also, let her know that you are aware she is up for reelection in November and that you will make sure that hunters in Wisconsin know whether she is on the side of hunters, or not. You can reach her at her Senate office at 202-224-5653. Tell her that Hunter Nation asked you to call!
Current Predator News
Cause & Affect
Yellowstone National Park
Nearly 30 years following the Gray Wolves release in Yellowstone, population is up 750% and is no longer an endangered.
Elk and Moose populations have plummeted after wolves were turned loose in the park in 1995.
MID-1990s Population
Elk - 20,000
Moose - 1,000
Wolf - 14
Current Population
Elk - 5,000 (down 75%)
Moose - Less than 200 (down over 80%)
Wolf - 120 (up over 750%)
Wisconsin Impact
In 2000 Wisconsin hunters harvested over 615,293 Whitetail Deer, in 2023 the deer harvest is currently under 300,000.
248 wolves in 2000 have grown to over 1,000 today that is 300%.
The 2023 firearms season was the lowest on record, statewide deer harvest was down nearly 20% from 2022.
2000 thru 2008 - 486,274 Avg Deer Harvest
2009 thru 2023 - 325,225 Avg. Deer Harvest
That is an average of 161,045 (33%) fewer Deer Harvested since Since 2008 when the Wolf population exceeded 550.
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In 1974, there were nearly 16 million American hunters. Deer, elk, moose and all game populations were on the rise. Hunting was an honored and revered skill, really a lifestyle, that had been passed down from generation to generation. At that time, the American hunter was living in “the good old days of hunting,” and the future of hunting had never looked so bright.
That same year, the gray wolf was listed as an “Endangered Species.” The goal was to someday bring the wolf populations back to a level that would be healthy for the wolf and sustainable to other game populations. In 1978, United States Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) developed a wolf recovery plan for the Great Lakes Region setting specific population numbers that must be met for the gray wolf population to be considered recovered, which in turn, would trigger a delisting of the wolf. Once the delisting occurred, the management of the wolf would return back to the states.
In 1980, USFWS developed a similar Northern Rocky Mountain wolf management plan. Again, specific population numbers were established to trigger a delisting. All impacted states had to develop their own state plan for the management of the gray wolf, that would come into force once the delisting occurred, and management of the wolf had returned to the state level.
With the endangered species designation, states with an existing wolf population were no longer able to manage wolf populations through hunting. Without any management, wolves continued to proliferate in Minnesota, and then, migrated into Michigan and Wisconsin.
Hunter Nation Supporter & NFL Great Brett Favre
By 1992, the wolf population in the Great Lakes Region had exceeded the recovery criteria. Instead of triggering the agreed-upon delisting, the recovery plan was revised to increase the number of wolves required to delist.
In 2000, the Northern Rocky Mountain wolf population recovery goals were met. Based on that recovery, in 2003, USFWS moved the gray wolf from endangered to threatened. In 2004, USFWS proposed that the gray wolf be removed from the Endangered Species Act (ESA). In 2005, under pressure from animal-rights groups, USFWS withdrew its delisting recommendation. In that same year, a Federal Judge moved the gray wolf back to an endangered designation.
With an exploding wolf population, in 2007, USFWS once again removed the gray wolf from the ESA. In 2008, ignoring the agreed-upon recovery plans and further ignoring sound science, a Federal Judge put the gray wolf back on the ESA. This legal back-and-forth continued until 2011.
In 2011, the current Hunter Nation leadership team led the fight to get Congress to delist the gray wolf legislatively. These efforts resulted in Congress passing legislation removing the gray wolf from the ESA in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, with no judicial review. This effectively returned the management of the gray wolf in those states back to the state level. This legislation was unanimously upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals, ninth circuit, and to this day, wolves are still being managed, and hunted, in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. The game populations in those states have rebounded to healthy levels, while the wolf populations in those states remain stable, healthy and above the levels required by USFWS and the respective state wolf recovery management plans.
Unfortunately, in 2014, another Federal Judge relisted the gray wolf in all continental 48 states, except Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Once again, the wolf was used as a pawn.
In 2021, based on ever increasing wolf populations in the states that had not been delisted, USFWS again removed the gray wolf from the ESA. In that same year, Hunter Nation successfully sued Wisconsin DNR to force a wolf hunt. Wisconsin was forced to manage the gray wolf consistent with their state statute that mandated a hunt, if the wolf was federally delisted. Hunters in Wisconsin killed 225 wolves in 72 hours, proving just how overpopulated that state was with wolves.
In 2022, another Federal Judge relisted the gray wolf in all states except Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Wolf populations continue to skyrocket in Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin, while deer populations in those states continue to plummet. In fact, the 2023 dear harvest in Wisconsin was the lowest deer gun harvest ever recorded.
This brings us to today. Hunter Nation is poised to lead the fight to get the gray wolf delisted in all lower 48 states without judicial review. Once this is accomplished, each state can manage all of the wildlife found in their state based on sound science and within the framework of the North American model of conservation. Hunter Nation has the credibility, track record and political clout to accomplish this. As mentioned, Hunter Nation's current leadership team is the same warriors who led the effort in 2011 that resulted in the delisting of the wolf in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming and successfully sued the state of Wisconsin, forcing the 2021 wolf hunt. We are building a coalition of like-minded organizations and stakeholders. Most importantly, Hunter Nation is building a grassroots army of hunters and conservationists that would like to see all wildlife populations, predator and prey alike, thrive and flourish consistent with the North American model of conservation.
The Problem
The problem is complex but there is a solution.
Politics
Politics have no place in this issue besides getting it resolved. Wolves are part of nature and should be treated as all of our wild animals. Well managed, they are an asset to every American. Unmanaged, they are a danger to game populations, a costly liability to farmers and ranchers and an increasing risk to our pets and children.
Perception
For decades, highly funded groups, falsely claiming to be conservationists, have raised and spent millions of dollars to alter the public perceptions of the wolf, and influence politicians to vote the way those groups demanded. These efforts have devastated game populations, violate the scientific principles of wildlife management, and soon will make the American Hunter extinct.
Reality
The original wolf recovery plan was wildly successful. Wolf numbers have met every population goal established. They no longer warrant being listed as endangered, as they are no longer endangered. Congress needs to act to ensure ESA decisions are made based on science and not determined arbitrarily by activist judges.
The Solution
Hunters must unite and support the proposed legislation known as the “Trust The Science Act” H.R. 764, introduced by Rep. Tom Tiffany (WI) and Rep. Lauren Boebert (CO).
H.R. 764 eliminates the politics of the wolf issue and replaces liberal, activist judges with the solid science needed to ensure healthy conservation of our natural wildlife while protecting those who live, work, hunt and recreate in our vast rural areas.
Our Plan
Our plan is simple, but it won’t be easy.
Educate & Unite Americans
It’s time for hunters, conservationists, and all Americans who care about honest wildlife management, based on sound science, to stand up and loudly state the truth about wolves. Hunter Nation has assembled a team of experts and influencers who are committed to getting the truth out.
Get The Truth Out
The time has come for the wolf to be an asset instead of a political pawn to be used by the anti-hunting, anti-science, so called “animal rights” groups. Wolf reintroduction efforts are a conservation success! Wolf populations have met all recovery goals and the wolf needs to be delisted immediately.
Delist The Wolf
Hunter Nation will continue to work to get Congress to pass H.R. 764, the “Trust The Science Act”. This bill will legislatively delist the gray wolf in the lower 48 states with no judicial review. Thus eliminating the Left’s use of liberal judges to block sound wildlife management.
Lessons Learned In the West
When Colorado chose to unleash wolves in their state, the governors of WY, ID, and MT refused to ship wolves from their states to Colorado. Those governors know first-hand the devastating effects unmanaged wolves can have at the state level.
Deer hunting in Wisconsin is in jeopardy. Anti-wolf hunting advocates, and their organizations, time and again have convinced activist judges in California and Washington D.C. to keep the wolf on the Endangered Species list. They have thwarted any efforts to responsibly manage the wolf population in Wisconsin and our deer population is suffering as a result. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently asked an appeals court to return to a Trump-era rule which would delist the gray wolf. But that does not mean Wisconsin will see a wolf hunt. First, the appeals court must agree over the objection of…
MORE
by Bronson Winslow | Restoration News – The out-of-touch Senator for Madison is doing everything to sic the wolves on northern Wisconsin hunters—literally Northern Wisconsin’s hunters and ranchers are fighting a losing war with the state’s dangerous and rapidly growing gray wolf population, costing them livestock and livelihoods. But Democrat politicians seem bent on backing the predators over their own constituents.
Keep on the gas. Mother Nature needs your help.
I moved from Montana to Washington State 2 years ago. The last 2 hunting seasons I have covered more miles looking for Deer and Elk then I did for 20 years in Montana. I am in what I have been told was the best hunting in the state 20 years ago before the wolf was released back into this area. On public lands you can hunt days before you see one single Deer. And weeks before you might see a Elk. There was a meeting about predator control a few years ago in the city I live in and I went to it. Lots of ranchers and Hunter’s came to it.
One guy said something about bringing back Dogs to keep the Lion’s under control. One of the head politicians from the Seattle area told him that their hands were tied on that and nothing can be done about that. I was the next person to speak to them and I told them that there hands might be tied but there voices are not. No comment from that. Also the last speaker was a man who was the top Fish and Game person in the state. He said that it was written up when the Wolf’s were introduced that there was going to be a limit on how many packs of Wolf’s that would be aloud in the State. He said that the paperwork has been lost and there is 2 times the Wolf packs that were agreed to. That was 2 years ago. He said if we don’t get ahold of them that there want be anything to hunt very soon.
I believe that is what they want. Trying to make it so nobody will be hunting because there is nothing to Hunt.
Then they can take our Guns away from us. Thanks for letting me vent.
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Wolves must be managed in the midwest. Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan are infested with wolves and ruining our hunting tradition where our children and their children will never be able to enjoy viewing or hunting wildlife. The groups fighting the to keep them listed are people who are not directly affected by wolves. I agree wolves have a place in wildlife but are out of control. I have gone 7 years without seeing a deer in northern wisconsin.
The wolves and the “birds” will feast in the last days because of war.
Jeremiah 7:33 And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away.
34 Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.
We need to delist the Gray Wolf and put a stop to animal right activist and liberal federal judges and courts from playing these walls back on the endangered species list and put population Management in to the states hands
All animals need to be managed properly wolfs includes, yes delist.
Thanks for giving me hope. (Colorado resident)
We as conservationists need to keep every animal in check. The wolves need to be one of these that we keep populations in control. This past year deer hunting was absolutely terrible. No deer. Year before wasn’t much better.
Chetek, Wisconsin
Support an effort to delist and reduce the population of wolves to zero.
Wolves are a part of a healthy environment. The Yellowstone re-introduction of wolves was and is a resounding success. The whole ecosystem benefited from reducing the over-populated elk population. Keeping the herd moving and preventing over grazing. All the plants and animals in Yellowstone became healthier because of this.
We definitely have far too many wolves. A well balanced wild life management program needs to be implemented.