OUTDOOR HUB
Daniel Xu | December 5, 2013
Since Michigan’s current wolf season began in mid-November, 19 of the allotted 43 wolves have been harvested.
The Michigan Board of State Canvassers formally approved the launching of a petition drive earlier this week to protect wolf hunting in the state’s Upper Peninsula. The group behind the petition, the Citizens for Professional Wildlife Management (CPWM), intends on gathering 258,000 signatures over the next 180 days in its petition for the Scientific Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act. If approved by legislators, the proposed act would protect the right of the Natural Resources Commission (NRC) to name game species such as wolves.
“This is about making sure that decisions about fish and wildlife management are made by relying on sound science and the recommendations of biologists, not activists or television commercials,” said Merle Shepard, chairman of CPWM.
Earlier this year Michigan lawmakers increased the powers of the NRC, making it possible to open a wolf season. Critics of wolf hunting saw this move as an overreach of the NRC’s authority, leading wolf advocate organizations to file petitions to end the wolf hunt. According to Detroit Free Press, two petitions are currently underway to repeal the laws that made the wolf hunt possible. Opponents of wolf hunting say CPWM’s petition is an attempt to circumvent the will of Michigan voters.