Wisconsin Wolf Population Stable at 1,200 According To New Estimate

State wildlife regulators say Wisconsin’s wolf population has grown to more than 1,200 and appears to be stabilizing, according to revised population estimates.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources presented the revised estimates Thursday at the first meeting of its wolf advisory committee since a 2014 federal court ruling placed wolves back on the endangered species list.

The agency monitors wolves through winter surveys of tracks, live trapping and monitoring of GPS collars. The DNR previously estimated the state had about 1,000 wolves in 2023, but the agency didn’t produce an over-winter population estimate last year due to a lack of snow and collar failures.

Since then, the agency has switched collar companies and made improvements to its monitoring and population models, said Lydia Margenau, the DNR’s wildlife population monitoring and modeling research scientist. The revised population estimate for this year is based on a likely range between 1,087 and 1,379 wolves.

“The current population remains nearly as large and widespread as it’s been in modern time,” Margenau said. “All biological indicators point to a secure and healthy population.”

Wildlife regulators said the population has stabilized and is no longer expanding.

“The population is really settling in where we would anticipate it,” Margenau said.

DNR research has previously found the state has a biological carrying capacity of 1,242 wolves.

Randy Johnson, large carnivore specialist with the DNR, said the number of wolves is leveling off due to a number of factors, including availability of prime habitat. As those areas fill up, the animals are forced into subpar habitat, which reduces their ability to survive.

“It’s basically a combination of running out of space and some of these internal mechanisms of increased mortality, lower pup survival, things like that,” Johnson said.

He added other factors such as illegal kills might also limit the wolf population. The DNR recorded 12 wolves that were killed illegally or a third of the 36 deaths detected during the 2024-25 monitoring period. Most wolves died in vehicle collisions, which staff say is largely due to animals spreading across the landscape.

The DNR also revised population estimates from 2020 to 2024. Under the changes, the number of wolves was down from the previous two years.

The DNR’s wolf advisory committee is made up of two dozen members representing state and federal agencies, farmers, environmental groups and Wisconsin tribes. They’re tasked with providing input and recommendations to the agency on carrying out the state’s wolf management plan, as well as developing policies and harvest quotas.

Johnson said he recognized the committee might not reach consensus on wolf harvest quotas, but he urged members to work together to reach an outcome they could “live with.”

Republican lawmakers on the state Senate’s sporting heritage committee have sought changes to wolf harvest regulations that implement the DNR’s updated wolf management plan, citing concerns about the lack of a population goal.

Gov. Tony Evers recently told agency leaders not to wait for GOP-controlled committees to sign off on rules, citing a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling in July. The decision struck down parts of state law that allowed a Republican-led joint committee to indefinitely suspend rules.

In a Sept. 4 letter, the DNR said it would not change its wolf harvest regulations. Review of the rules by the Senate’s sporting heritage committee ends next week, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress are seeking to remove wolves from the federal endangered species list. U.S. House Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Hazelhurst, and U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, introduced bills this year that would require the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to issue a rule removing federal protections for gray wolves and barring courts from reviewing the decision.

In late 2020, the Trump administration delisted the wolf, but a federal judge restored protections in February 2022. Federal wildlife regulators are appealing that decision.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is required to monitor wolf populations for five years following any delisting. In Wisconsin, a 2012 law requires a wolf hunt each year when the animal isn’t under federal protection.

Animal advocacy groups and Wisconsin tribes have expressed concerns about state management of wolves if the animals are delisted, citing the 2021 wolf hunt. In February of that year, state-licensed hunters killed 218 wolves in less than three days, going over quota.

Hunters and farmers have pointed to wolf conflicts with hunting dogs and livestock, saying nonlethal methods to manage wolves are ineffective or too costly. The DNR received more than 100 verified wolf complaints in the most recent 2024-25 monitoring period. Agency data shows wolves killed 27 hunting hounds and two pet dogs. There were also 40 farms that had wolf conflicts involving livestock, representing a small fraction of the state’s 58,500 farms.

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Wisconsin wolf population is up to 1,200 under revised estimates, improved tracking was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.