By JOHN FLESHER, AP Environmental Writer
Thursday, April 11, 2013
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A state Senate committee approved legislation Thursday that could block voters from deciding whether to allow wolf hunting in Michigan.
The bill would empower the Natural Resources Commission, a seven-member regulatory panel appointed by the governor, to decide which types of wildlife could be hunted. Only the Legislature presently has that authority.
Lawmakers voted in December to put the wolf on the list of game species. Opponents collected more than 240,000 petition signatures seeking a statewide vote in 2014 on whether to overturn the measure. If officials determine enough of the signatures are valid, no wolf hunt could be held until after the referendum.
But that could change under a new bill sponsored by Sen. Tom Casperson, an Escanaba Republican. It would give the Natural Resources Commission equal standing with lawmakers to designate game species, although only the Legislature could drop a species from the list. It also would include a $1 million appropriation — which under state law would keep it from being placed on the ballot.
If the bill is approved by lawmakers and signed by Gov. Rick Snyder, it would mean the results of a 2014 statewide initiative would not be legally binding.
The measure cleared the Senate Natural Resources, Environment and Great Lakes Committee on a 5-2 vote in Lansing, with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed. It now goes to the Senate floor, over the protests of critics who said it violates democratic principles.
"This bill removes the checks and balances currently in place and is an assault against the rights of Michigan citizens," said Nancy Warren, regional director of the National Wolfwatcher Coalition and a resident of Ewen in the U.P.
Casperson told The Associated Press on Wednesday his bill would carry out voters' wishes as expressed in a 1996 ballot initiative that gave the Natural Resources Commission responsibility to set wildlife management policies based on scientific data.
During a commission meeting Thursday, the Department of Natural Resources recommended scheduling a two-month season this fall during which hunters could kill a maximum of 43 wolves. The hunt would be held in three zones where DNR officials say they've received a high number of complaints and other control methods have failed.
The commission could make a decision at its next meeting May 9.
DNR biologist Adam Bump reported the U.P. wolf population has declined slightly over the past two years. The latest estimate is 658, down from 687.
JIm Hammill, a retired DNR scientist from Crystal Falls, told the commission he favors hunting wolves across the U.P. to stem growing resentment of the predators. In a phone interview with the AP, he said the population drop-off probably results from illegal killing. People would be more tolerant if wolf numbers were kept around 500, he said.
"The shoot, shovel and shut up mentality is prevalent throughout the U.P.," Hammill said. "There's a lot of frustration. Some people don't even bother to report problems because they have no faith that anything will be done."
Michigan Tech University biologist John Vucetich, a wolf and moose specialist, said support for wolf hunting is based on false beliefs that they kill too many deer or threaten human safety. Fewer than 10 percent of wolves attack livestock, and farmers already can shoot those preying on their animals, he said.
"Wolf hunting is not like deer hunting, where hunters and their families are sustained by consuming its meat," Vucetich said. "We lose our humanity when we kill living creatures without adequate reason."
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The bill would empower the Natural Resources Commission, a seven-member regulatory panel appointed by the governor, to decide which types of wildlife could be hunted. Only the Legislature presently has that authority.
Lawmakers voted in December to put the wolf on the list of game species. Opponents collected more than 240,000 petition signatures seeking a statewide vote in 2014 on whether to overturn the measure. If officials determine enough of the signatures are valid, no wolf hunt could be held until after the referendum.
But that could change under a new bill sponsored by Sen. Tom Casperson, an Escanaba Republican. It would give the Natural Resources Commission equal standing with lawmakers to designate game species, although only the Legislature could drop a species from the list. It also would include a $1 million appropriation — which under state law would keep it from being placed on the ballot.
If the bill is approved by lawmakers and signed by Gov. Rick Snyder, it would mean the results of a 2014 statewide initiative would not be legally binding.
The measure cleared the Senate Natural Resources, Environment and Great Lakes Committee on a 5-2 vote in Lansing, with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed. It now goes to the Senate floor, over the protests of critics who said it violates democratic principles.
"This bill removes the checks and balances currently in place and is an assault against the rights of Michigan citizens," said Nancy Warren, regional director of the National Wolfwatcher Coalition and a resident of Ewen in the U.P.
Casperson told The Associated Press on Wednesday his bill would carry out voters' wishes as expressed in a 1996 ballot initiative that gave the Natural Resources Commission responsibility to set wildlife management policies based on scientific data.
During a commission meeting Thursday, the Department of Natural Resources recommended scheduling a two-month season this fall during which hunters could kill a maximum of 43 wolves. The hunt would be held in three zones where DNR officials say they've received a high number of complaints and other control methods have failed.
The commission could make a decision at its next meeting May 9.
DNR biologist Adam Bump reported the U.P. wolf population has declined slightly over the past two years. The latest estimate is 658, down from 687.
JIm Hammill, a retired DNR scientist from Crystal Falls, told the commission he favors hunting wolves across the U.P. to stem growing resentment of the predators. In a phone interview with the AP, he said the population drop-off probably results from illegal killing. People would be more tolerant if wolf numbers were kept around 500, he said.
"The shoot, shovel and shut up mentality is prevalent throughout the U.P.," Hammill said. "There's a lot of frustration. Some people don't even bother to report problems because they have no faith that anything will be done."
Michigan Tech University biologist John Vucetich, a wolf and moose specialist, said support for wolf hunting is based on false beliefs that they kill too many deer or threaten human safety. Fewer than 10 percent of wolves attack livestock, and farmers already can shoot those preying on their animals, he said.
"Wolf hunting is not like deer hunting, where hunters and their families are sustained by consuming its meat," Vucetich said. "We lose our humanity when we kill living creatures without adequate reason."
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