Hunter Nation Webinar Highlights Growing Demand to Delist the Gray Wolf
Hunters, ranchers, conservationists, and rural leaders from across America came together during a recent Hunter Nation webinar to discuss one issue they believe can no longer be ignored: the urgent need to delist the gray wolf and return management authority to the states.
Hosted by Hunter Nation’s Keith Mark, the webinar brought together an influential panel that included Congressman Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin, Congressman Ryan Zinke of Montana, musician and longtime hunting advocate Ted Nugent, Western Justice founder Dave Duquette, and Hunter Nation board member Tim Rupli. Together, the group delivered a unified message: the gray wolf has recovered, and unmanaged wolf populations are causing serious damage to wildlife herds, livestock operations, pets, and rural communities.
“The Wolf Must Be Managed”
Throughout the webinar, it was emphasized that the issue is not about eliminating wolves. It is about restoring balance through science-based wildlife management.
Congressman Tom Tiffany, who has led federal wolf delisting legislation through the House of Representatives, stated:
“Like any wildlife species, they must be managed. For some reason, some people think that the wolf is an exception that does not need to be managed. It does.”
Tiffany described the growing number of wolf attacks on pets and livestock throughout Wisconsin, while also warning that unmanaged wolves are destroying the state’s hunting traditions.
“Young people don’t come up anymore because they’re not going to see a deer,”
Tiffany said while discussing the collapse of deer hunting camps in northern Wisconsin.
Deer Herds and Hunting Traditions Are Suffering
One of the central themes of the webinar focused on the impact wolves are having on deer and elk populations across the Midwest and West.
Keith Mark pointed to Wisconsin deer harvest numbers, noting that deer harvest totals have dramatically declined during the same period wolf populations have exploded.
Congressman Ryan Zinke, former Secretary of the Interior, explained that predator management is essential to maintaining healthy ecosystems.
“When you don’t manage a species, you don’t manage a forest, what happens is the forest burns down,” Zinke said. “The optimum number of wolves is not zero. But they need to be managed.”
Zinke also warned that wolf packs are devastating elk calf populations in parts of the West while increasingly moving into areas near homes and livestock operations.
Ranchers Describe Devastating Losses
Western Justice founder Dave Duquette detailed the impact wolves are having on ranchers throughout the western United States, particularly in Washington, Oregon, and California.
“We don’t have a wolf problem. We have a wolf management problem”
Duquette said, quoting a livestock depredation specialist working in the Pacific Northwest.
According to Duquette, some ranchers are losing hundreds of thousands of dollars annually due to wolf predation. He also described conditions in northern California where deer, elk, and pronghorn populations have sharply declined while wolf packs continue expanding unchecked.
“We were on kills almost every day”
Duquette said while describing his recent work documenting wolf depredation in California ranching communities.
Ted Nugent Calls for Action
Longtime hunter and conservation advocate Ted Nugent delivered some of the webinar’s strongest remarks about the importance of wildlife management and civic involvement.
“We all have an instinctual, intelligent, and spiritual obligation to create balance as conscientious participating stewards,”
Nugent warned that wolves and grizzly bears have moved from being wildlife assets to liabilities in many areas because they are no longer properly managed.
“You can’t have healthy biodiversity with hands off”
He also stressed that conservationists must become more politically active to protect hunting traditions and rural communities.
“Worse than communism, worse than Marxism, is apathy,” Nugent said. “We as Americans have a moral, spiritual, intellectual, and patriotic obligation to vote.”
Why Federal Delisting Matters
Another major focus of the webinar involved ongoing legal battles that continue preventing states from managing wolf populations even after federal delisting efforts succeed.
Congressman Tiffany explained why current legislation includes language preventing judicial review.
“All they have to do is forum shop”
Tiffany said, describing how activist groups repeatedly file lawsuits in favorable courts to restore federal wolf protections.
“That’s why the judicial review provision is absolutely critical.”
Speakers argued that wildlife management decisions should be made by state wildlife professionals rather than activist judges far removed from the realities facing hunters, ranchers, and rural communities.
Hunter Nation Pushes Forward
Hunter Nation believes the gray wolf recovery should be celebrated as one of America’s greatest conservation success stories; but true conservation does not end with recovery. It requires responsible, science-based management that protects wildlife balance, preserves hunting traditions, safeguards livestock and pets, and supports rural communities that live closest to the land every day. Wolves belong on the landscape, but unmanaged predators threaten the very ecosystems and outdoor heritage conservationists have spent generations protecting. The path forward is clear: delist the gray wolf, return management authority to the states, and restore the balance necessary to protect wildlife, preserve America’s hunting legacy, and ensure future generations can continue living the outdoor traditions that define our nation.