FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 22, 2021
CONTACT: Elizabeth Ward, Chapter Director, elizabeth.ward@sierraclub.org
Sierra Club Dismayed by Unscientific, Irresponsible Wolf Hunt
Madison- Today, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) will launch a 6-day hunt on Wisconsin’s gray wolves, with a quota, established in days, of 200 wolves, as required by a court case brought by the hunting group, Hunter Nation.
In response, Wisconsin Sierra Club Chapter Director Elizabeth Ward issued the following statement:
“We’re disturbed to see the wolf hunt launch with practically no process or public engagement. Gray wolves just lost their endangered species protections in January, there is no reason to rush a wolf hunt weeks later.
The DNR is required to manage Wisconsin’s wildlife for every Wisconsin resident, not groups like Hunter Nation that represent a minority of Wisconsin. The DNR needs time to step back and create a thorough, inclusive, equitable, fair, and science-based planning process that includes public input, broad stakeholder engagement, and full consultation with the Tribes. This court decision rushed decisions that should take months into a few days. That is not how sound decisions are made.
This hunt represents an unprecedented and extreme departure from sound, science-based wildlife practices on the part of Wisconsin DNR. No doubt this hunt is an insult to science, democracy, and good conscience.”
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Founded in 1892, the Sierra Club is America’s oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization. The Sierra Club’s mission is to explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth. The Sierra Club – Wisconsin is made up of 18,000 members and supporters from throughout Wisconsin working to promote clean energy and protect land and water resources.