Hunting season can mean poaching season

MARQUETTE - The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is looking into a wolf poaching case that occurred in late October near Baraga County.

And while no wolves have been reported killed thus far during the firearm deer season, this time of year can be dangerous for wolves as more people with guns are in the woods, DNR officials said.

"With that many people in the woods with rifles, we typically do have a number of wolves being taken illegally," said Brian Roell, wolf management coordinator at the Marquette DNR office.

In regard to the October wolf poaching incident, DNR conservation officers are seeking information related to the illegal shooting of a radio-collared wolf between Oct. 16 and 23. The wolf is believed to have been shot in Baraga County or southern Houghton County. The radio collar was located near Froberg Road and the Sturgeon River in Baraga County. A reward of up to $4,500 is being offered for information leading to the conviction of the person or persons responsible for the wolf killing. The gray wolf has been recently relisted on the federal endangered species list. Roell said four wolves across the U.P. have been killed from various causes since Sept. 21, when the animal was relisted.

Lt. Tim Robson of the DNR said scientists are still investigating some of those deaths, but the Baraga County case is the only one actively being investigated as a poaching incident. No further details were available on the case, since it is an open investigation, he said.

Roell said if hunters or other people in the woods this fall see a wolf, they should not take any action toward the animal. Wolves are not a threat to people in the woods, he said.

"I've had a lot of hunters come in saying they saw one and really wish they had a camera, that it was a great sighting," Roell said.

"That's the way they should be treated, as part of the normal wildlife in the ecosystem of the U.P."

Anyone with information about this case can call the DNR's Report All Poaching hotline at 800-292-7800, the FWS at 989-686-4578, or contact a local DNR conservation officer. Information can be provided anonymously.

An online form to report poaching violations is available on the DNR's Web site at www.michigan.gov/dnr under the Law Enforcement menu.