Join us for Wolf Awareness week where we have a week packed with opportunities to spread the word about the importance of wolves in Wisconsin. This is the 31st year of celebrating wolves in our state and promoting wolf education. Wolf Awareness Week was signed into law by Tommy Thompson back in 1990, and it is just as relevant today.
About Wolf Awareness Week: In 1990, Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson signed the proclamation of Wisconsin Wolf Awareness Week, a time to celebrate these important animals, by highlighting the threats to their survival, spread the word about what you can do to help wolves stay protected, and help humans learn to live alongside them.
Our goal this week is to both educate and advocate on behalf of wolves in Wisconsin. Each day we’ll have a different action you can take to help. Sign up here to be updated on the different actions.
Each day we'll have different, fun activities you can participate in:
Social Sunday- share some fun facts about wolves on your social media
Take a Moment Monday- test your knowledge of wolves
Talk about it Tuesday- Join us on Facebook Live at NOON for a "State of the Packs" update about wolf protection (watch the recording here)
#WolfWednesday- Draw your concerns! Download and draw a wolf from our coloring page and send it to Secretary Haalaand asking her to relist the wolves
Thankful Thursday- Thank Governor Evers for reducing the quota
TGWF- Thank Goodness for Wolves Friday- give back to those leading on this issue
Takin' it to the Streets Saturday- Join us at the Dane County Farmers Market to take action and learn other things you can do!
Social Sunday-
We welcome you to check out our social media posts that highlight the social aspects of wolves. Here are a few of the coolest facts!
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Work Hard – Play Hard! Wolves, like our dogs, play to have fun and get exercise. They will get the "zoomies." They will play tug of war and take-away. They will even play alone by flipping sticks and other objects to get others to join them. Play is important to wolves to hone social and cognitive skills for both youngsters and adults.
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Call of the Wild: Wolves can’t post on social media but still need to communicate with each other over long distances! Wolves will do that by howling day or night and will howl for a whole variety of reasons including: to locate each other when separated, to rally before a hunt, to serve as a warning to keep other wolves away, and, well, some howl just for the pure pleasure!
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Go Pack Go! The average wolf pack or family is four wolves. The main roles in a pack are the breeding pair (Mom & Dad), young wolves (who are like teenagers and can also help with babysitting) and the newborn pups who are cared for and protected by the whole group. Eventually, depending on pack dynamics, those young wolves could leave the pack to find their own way.
Please share our posts from Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter with your “wolf pack” to spread awareness of wolves today!
Take a Moment Monday-
Wolves are incredible creatures, and we continue to learn more about the benefits they provide to the entire ecosystem as keystone species. They have been shown to change landscapes by keeping populations in check. Also, by just being on the landscape change the herbivores behave allowing forest regrowth and reducing overgrazing. Check out how this has happened in Yellowstone National Park in this video.
They also have been wrongly vilified with a lot of myths over time, that aren’t accurate at all. These myths have helped create the political environment that has led to such awful support of hunting wolves regardless of what the science says.
Take a moment this Monday to test your real wolf knowledge with this great quiz.
And once you prove your wolf IQ, for fun, you can always see where you would fall in a wolf pack structure with this quiz!
Talk about it Tuesday-
Our goal on this “Talk about it Tuesday” is to educate on what is currently going on regarding wolf protections and across the country and here in Wisconsin. It has been a busy, and at times crazy, year for our wolves in the US. We hope you can join us today to get the latest pulse on what is happening. Here is the agenda for our Facebook live event at 12 noon.
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Welcome/Quick intros– (2 minutes)
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National Wolf Updates - (5 minutes)
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Wisconsin Wolf Updates – (5 minutes)
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Wolf Management Plan Committee Updates – (5 minutes)
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Call to action – How you can help wolves today! (5 minutes)
If you missed it, watch the recording here.
Wolf Wednesday-
Some call it “hump day” but we call it #wolfwednesday during our Wolf Awareness Week.
We have a fun way to get involved and advocate for wolves today! Here are all the details!
Quick summary:
- Fun - You can channel your inner artist and color a picture of a wolf! It’s fun for both kids and adults!
- Spread the word - Post your colorful wolf creation to social media with #wolfwednesday and #wolfweekawareness to spread awareness and appreciation for wolves!
- Advocate – Bonus, take your advocacy for wolves one step further! On your wolf picture, you can include a note about why wolves are important and then mail it to the Biden Administration asking relist wolves for federal protection under the Endangered Species Act.
Make the world a more colorful place today!
Thankful Thursday
Today, let’s focus on being grateful. We can send some positivity to our Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers. He has taken an important stand for wolves in a turbulent political climate. We need his leadership and the Department of Natural Resources to make sound science-based decisions.
We appreciate his public comments and work behind the scenes to help protect our Wisconsin wolves for generations to come. His leadership on this issue is critical so let’s send him a quick thank you note found here.
Speaking of thankful, we are thankful for your engagement in Wolf Awareness Week. The more voices we have involved in this discussion the sooner the greater public and Wisconsin politicians will understand how crucial wolves are to protect in our state.
We are all lucky to live in a state where we could hear or see a wolf in the wild. Now, that is something to be thankful for today!
TGFW – Thank Goodness for Wolves!
It’s been a great week learning and advocating for wolves! Our goal today is to understand and reflect on the cultural significance of wolves for Indigenous People.
We are so grateful for our Tribal neighbors taking action to protect and advocate for wolves! Here are several helpful resources we highly reccomend:
- Check out this PBS interview with Peter David, a biologist with the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission, as he discusses the Ojibwe tribal lawsuit to stop Wisconsin's second wolf hunt of 2021. On Oct. 29, 2021, we will learn if this very lawsuit filed by six tribes will be successful in seeking an injunction and stop the next planned recreational hunt in Wisconsin that is schedule to begin only days later on November 6, 2021.
- Watch the Sierra Club’s showing and discussion of “FAMILY,” a short film highlighting the deep cultural connection Indigenous Nations share with wolves and the major threats currently facing imperiled wolves in the lower 48 states. Our discussion features two outstanding panel experts. Please view it on Sierra Club Wisconsin’s YouTube channel here.
- Also, there is exciting work regarding coexistence with wolves and wildlife on Anishinaabe land. Please check it out the Bad River Tribe’s efforts here during their Ma’iingan Awareness Week. (Ma’iingan is the Ojibwe word for wolf)
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Taking it to the Streets Saturday
It’s been a wonderful Wolf Awareness Week! Thank you for participating!
Today, we are taking our efforts to the streets of Madison!
Please come out and meet our Sierra Club Wildlife Team at the Dane County Framer’s Market this morning from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. [If you'd like to help us table, reach out to Elizabeth at elizabeth.ward@sierraclub.org]
We are going to be spreading general wolf awareness in Wisconsin. We will also be asking people to sign a petition to urge Secretary Deb Harland to again grant wolves the Federal protection they desperately need.
We would love to see you on the square!
As this important week of wolf awareness comes to an end, the wolves still need your voice Your actions right now are critical. Please learn more about our work here and consider joining our “pack” to help protect wolves!