By Steve Carmody

Credit http://the-wolfs.webs.com/wolfspecies.htm

There could soon be dueling petition drives on opposite sides of the debate over wolf hunting in Michigan.
Next week, a coalition of Michigan hunting groups will ask the Board of State Canvassers to approve the wording of a petition for a new state law.
“The wolf hunting debate alerted us to the need for this type of decision making process,” says Drew YoungeDyke.   He’s with Citizens for Professional Wildlife Management.
“But it’s not just about wolf hunting. It’s about wildlife management,” adds YoungeDyke.
The “Scientific Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act” would direct the Natural Resources Commission to designate game species using “sound science”.   That would allow the body to designate what animals should be hunted in Michigan.  The act would also allocate a million dollars to the NRC.  That appropriation would prevent wolf hunt supporters from launching a referendum petition to challenge the law. 
If the hunting groups can collect the more than quarter million petition signatures needed, the legislature would have the option to affirm the proposed law.  If state lawmakers, who have already approved two similar laws, decide to pass, it would land on the statewide ballot.

Dog shooting: Shooting seems like wolf hatred

A man is out cross-country skiing on public land with his three malamutes on a Sunday. One of his dogs, Little Dave, is shot in the leg and then is riddled with more bullets, even after the owner is yelling for him to stop. The hunter says he thought the dog was a wolf and went on his way. He left behind a dead two-year-old malamute and a very distraught owner.
Is this horrific act driven by an uncontrolled hatred toward wolves? That a hunter would shoot a “wolf-like” creature without making sure it was, indeed, a wolf? That he would shoot multiple times even after the animal was down, ignoring the shouts of Little Dave’s owner? Then, leave the scene, just like that?
If it’s not excessive hate, then what is it? A man totally ignorant of or lacking in a hunter’s code of ethics? A man who uses his weapon without any apparent skill? Whatever it is, it is an act of appalling cruelty.
Cherie H. Russell, Stevensville

Fans of wolves clash with livestock ranchers

By Hudson Sangree
hsangree@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, Nov. 22, 2013 - 10:53 pm
Wolves tend to stir up strong emotions from those who regard them as vicious predators and others who see them as magnificent wildlife.
Those feelings were on full display at a hearing Friday night in Sacramento meant to generate public input for a proposal by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to take the gray wolf off its list ofendangered species throughout the lower 48 states.
In some states where the wolves have made a recovery, they are no longer listed as endangered and can be hunted.
In California, a state with no wolves, hundreds packed the hearing room at the Marriott Courtyard Sacramento Cal Expo, some wearing cowboy hats and others sporting caps with wolf ears.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/11/22/5939200/howls-of-protest-at-sacramento.html#storylink=cpy

A hunter’s perspective on killing wolf

Posted on November 26, 2013 at 1:45 pm
I used to be a member of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association (MDHA), the largestdeer hunting advocacy group in the state. I started deer hunting as an adult as a way to harvest meat for my families’ consumption.
Not long after joining MHDA they started sending emails promoting wolf killing. I also noticed that on their website there was a lot of talk about supporting the upcoming wolf season. That really bothered me since I thought the group was group focused on deer. I had given them a membership due so that I could learn more about deer hunting and here I find out the MDHA is lobbying heavily for a recreational wolf season!
I have always had great pride in the Minnesota’s grey wolf population; wolves make the wilderness alive and healthy. I felt like I had betrayed myself by giving money to a group that was anti-science and anti-biodiversity. Wolves and other predators serve a critical role in the health of an ecosystem and without them we can expect to see fewer and fewer animal and plant species. In Yellowstone National Park, after wolves were reintroduced biodiversity increased greatly.