Through Aug. 3, wolves had killed at least 18 calves, 10 dogs, five chickens, one cow, one miniature horse, one miniature donkey and one goat in central and northern Wisconsin so far this year.

About half of those occurred since July 1, plus a pet dog, miniature horse and a calf injured. Now it appears that funding for depredation claims on those July kills — and others that occur the rest of the fiscal year — may be deferred until the end of June, 2027.

Randy Johnson, the DNR’s large carnivore specialist, said there’s been increasing uncertainty about the agency’s ability to fully cover all wolf depredation compensation claims in the year ahead.

The DNR is required to provide a compensation program for all verified death or injury of livestock, pets and hunting dogs due to wolves, except those used in hunting of wolves when they’re delisted and there’s an open wolf hunting season. The funding sources for these payments are laid out in state statute.

“While wolves are listed either at the state or federal level, the funding comes from specific accounts for the department’s endangered resources program (Bureau of Natural Heritage Conservation), as opposed to the sale of wolf licenses while they are delisted,” Johnson said.
To address this, he said the DNR may temporarily defer payments for all claims from the beginning of FY 27 (July 1, 2026) with the intention of fully paying all claims at the end of FY 27 (June 30, 2027). If claims exceed available funds, state statute provides the department with the option to request additional funding through the process described in section 13.10 of the Wisconsin State Statutes.

The department is pursuing grant funding to help cover other wolf-related costs, which, if successful, could free up additional funds for paying claims.

The DNR believes that the state’s wolf population range was likely between 1,000 and 1,300 wolves last winter, in 287 to 359 packs. The overall estimate came in at 1,162 wolves in 321 packs, three percent below the five-year average.

Those estimates are made before new pups are born in the spring, and don’t include wolves not associated with packs, or individuals outside of the state’s core wolf range in the northern and central forests.

Prairie Fest

Ever considered planting an acre or more of native prairie flowers and grasses? If so, you have a unique opportunity to learn more this Saturday at a free, three-hour festival in southern Door County, near Forestville.

Peter and Gayle Andre are hosting Prairie Fest from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday on County Trunk X, just west of the Black Ash Swamp, about 20 minutes northeast of Green Bay. They want to invite anyone who has an interest in transforming an acre or more of land into a perpetual wildlife haven to stop by.

The event includes a hike through several different prairies, as well as presentations by a UW-Madison ecologist, a Pheasants Forever biologist and a training specialist from the Wisconsin Prescribed Fire Council. There will be transportation available for those who aren’t able to walk far.

Mowing is essential in the early years, followed by an occasional prescribed burn. Julie Peterson, a biologist with Pheasants Forever, said mowing keeps weeds from shading out prairie plants and from seeding. Even before that, though, is good site preparation. Once established, prairie plantings offer blooms for pollinators throughout the growing season.

Counter service at all DNR service centers, the statewide call center and email service will not be available Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 26-27 due to training. The dates were selected because of past lowest license sales and phone call volume during that time of year.

The DNR Tipline, Emergency Spills line and Wisconsin Emergency Management hotline will continue to be answered during this time, and the website will still be operational at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/. Licenses can still be purchased via https://gowild.wi.gov/.

Counter services, the call center and email responses will resume normal business hours on Friday, Aug. 28.