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Interviews with news makers and discussion of topics important to Southwest Michigan. Subscribe to the podcast through Apple itunes and Google. Segments of interview are heard in WestSouthwest Brief during Morning Edition and All Things Considered

WSW: The Fight over Wolf Hunts Continues

US Fish and Wildlife Service

Opponents of wolf hunting in Michigan won a victory last December. That’s when a federal court put Michigan wolves back on the endangered species list. But biologist John Vucetich says a bill under consideration in Congress could change that.

Vucetich studies the moose and wolf populations of Isle Royale in Lake Superior. He’s also a professor in the in the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science at Michigan Technological University.

He’ll give a talk on “The Future of Wolf Hunting in Michigan,” Thursday March 26 at Western Michigan University’s Fetzer Center. He’ll also be on Western’s campus on Friday March 27 to discuss his research on Isle Royale.

West Southwest spoke with Vucetich about why wolf hunting in Michigan is on hold and whether it could be allowed again in the future.

A legal hunt is currently out of the question. That’s because of a U.S. District Court’s December 2014 decision to re-list wolves in Michigan and Wisconsin as endangered species.

But Vucetich says Congressional lawmakers have proposed legislation that would bypass that ruling, and allow wolves to be hunted.

“Whether that bill passes or succeeds, that will say a tremendous amount and so that’s the thing to be paying attention to,” he says.

The court’s decision followed the defeat in November of two ballot referenda that would have permitted wolf hunting. The failure of those proposals did not necessarily bar the state from authorizing wolf hunts in Michigan.

John-Vucetich-web-full.mp3
WMUK's full interview with biologist John Vucetich

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is appealing the district court’s decision.

 

Sehvilla Mann joined WMUK’s news team in 2014 as a reporter on the local government and education beats. She covered those topics and more in eight years of reporting for the Station, before becoming news director in 2022.
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