Tiffany, Crowley aligned on removing federal protections for wolves in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Public Radio · Danielle Kaeding · September 9, 2026

In the race for Wisconsin’s governor, Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany and his Democratic opponent Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley share rare common ground on delisting wolves in Wisconsin. On Friday, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that directed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to begin the process of delisting or downlisting wolves under the Endangered Species Act within 90 days if recovery criteria are met. In 2020, the Trump administration delisted the wolf before a federal judge later restored federal protections two years later. There are more than 4,000 wolves in the western Great Lakes region that includes Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources estimates the state has 1,162 wolves , which is down 5 percent from last year. The state once had as many as 5,000 wolves before a bounty on the species caused them to be hunted to near extinction by the 1950s. Tiffany said in a statement on Friday that the gray wolf has recovered. “Farmers are dealing with livestock depredations, families are losing pets, and wolves are showing up closer to homes,” Tiffany said. “Wisconsin has successfully managed wildlife for generations. It is time to get out-of-state judges and bureaucrats out of the way and let Wisconsin responsibly manage its wolf population.” Tiffany has cosponsored a bill that would remove federal protections for wolves and bar court review of the decision. The U.S. House passed the legislation in December, but it awaits a vote in the Senate. In a statement, Crowley said he also supports “commonsense efforts” to delist the gray wolf in Wisconsin because science shows the population has recovered in the Great Lakes region. “While other parts of the country have different wolf populations and management needs, we need our agriculture, tribal, scientific, and impacted communities to come together to create a solution that works for Wisconsin,” Crowley said. “It’s time to follow the science and give impacted communities a seat at the table as we work together to be responsible stewards of Wisconsin’s gray wolf population.”

Animal rights and environmental protections groups have mounted multiple legal challenges over the years to ensure federal protections for wolves. A 2022 survey by the DNR shows most Wisconsin households that responded had favorable attitudes toward wolves, although less so in wolf range. Even so, more than half of residents living in wolf-range surveyed said they wanted the same number of wolves or more. If wolves are delisted, Wisconsin would likely move to immediately hold a wolf hunt similar to five years ago when hunters killed 218 wolves, said Melissa Smith, executive director of the Great Lakes Wildlife Alliance. A 2012 law mandates a season when the animal isn’t under federal protection, and the DNR has said the wolf population is recovered in Wisconsin. Last year, Wisconsin signed off on wolf harvest regulations that provide protections for wolf dens and shorten the window to register wolf kills after hunters exceeded the 200-wolf quota in 2021. Smith said she’s not convinced state management of wolves would improve. “These are the folks that in 60 hours killed 200 wolves…in a very coordinated effort,” Smith said. “This is who wolf hunters are, unfortunately.” As of Sept. 9, Wisconsin has had 55 confirmed or probable wolf attacks on livestock and dogs, according to data from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Brad Olson, president of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, said in a statement that Trump’s executive order is a positive step toward delisting the wolf. “Delisting the gray wolf is not about erasing conservation gains; it’s about restoring balance that Wisconsin’s rural residents so desperately need,” Olson said. Around 40 of the 58,000 farms in Wisconsin have been affected by wolf depredations this year. The DNR nixed a population goal under its updated wolf management plan that seeks to maintain between 800 and 1,200 wolves in Wisconsin. A previous plan approved in 1999 and revised in 2007 set a population goal of 350 wolves . GOP lawmakers have asked the DNR to set a statewide population goal through legislation or changes to wolf harvest regulations without success. Since 2022, wolf damage claims have increased from roughly $100,000 to almost $323,000 in 2024 as claims more than doubled over that time span. While the state paid less last year, the DNR has said eight of the 10 years with the highest claims have occurred between 2015 and 2025. The state is currently weighing regulations to prorate claims due to a potential funding shortfall. Wisconsin has paid a total of $3.9 million in claims since 1985.

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