Wolves are found in various regions in the United States of America. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service describes these regions as the Great Lakes, northern Rockies, and the Southwestern areas.The state of Michigan is included in this selective list of territory for wolves.

Gray wolves were first listed as endangered in 1974. In 1989, the USFWS found only 3 wolves in the entire state. This organization now (data was last recorded in 2015) calculates their population to be at 639. Michigan's gray wolves have since been unlisted (2011) and relisted (2014) as endangered according to the USFWS. Due to their ever-changing population status, there have been countless rulings and court decisions made regarding the conservation efforts that should be put forth for wolves with consideration of both the rights of the people and the wolves’ impending extinction.

Hunting has been a part of human culture since the beginning of time. In fact, one thing that sets humans apart from many other species is our unique ability to create and use tools in order to better accomplish a task, such as capturing prey. Hunting was originally used as a means to eat, and in more recent years has been used as a way to practice population control, which can be seen, for example, with the notorious deer over-population problem that Michigan experiences. Hunting for sport, however, is a much more controversial issue.

Wolves are not hunted for their meat, nor does their population need much downsizing. They are solely hunted as trophies and to eliminate any threats their growing population may pose to farmers.

Wolves play a very valuable role in our delicate ecosystem. In the DNR’s Wolf Management Plan they outlined some of these important contributions. “Primary effects of wolves can include the removal of weak, sick or otherwise vulnerable individual prey, local influences on prey numbers, and increased availability of food for scavengers (Mech 1970). Wolves may also limit populations of competitors such as coyotes (Crabtree and Sheldon 1999). These primary effects can also cause changes (indirect effects) in other elements of the ecosystem.(DNR 2015)”. Wolves eat ungulates, which are large hooves mammals (Defenders of Wildlife 2016). A wolf’s diet thus includes deer, which are notorious for being over populated in Michigan. With a decrease in the wolf population, there will undoubtedly be an increase in the deer population. This could have several effects. There could be more ticks and disease spread, there could be an increase in deer-related car accidents, or with the extra food available, the coyote population may increase. As aforementioned in the DNR’s plan, wolves help eliminate coyotes, so with a decrease in the number of wolves, there will be less competition and more food (deer) for the coyotes to enjoy and ultimately expand their own population. These are just a few examples of how tampering with one species can have virtually unlimited effects on other aspects of the ecosystem.

Furthermore, the threat they pose to farmers is not currently very high. While there is the occasional story of a wolf wandering onto a cattle farm, wolves naturally stay away from humans and can be easily scared off. Also, properly outlining the land around one's house with fencing, odor repellents, and things of this nature could eliminate any exploring of curious animals. In the case that an animal does wander onto one's property, protecting one's livelihood or family could be protected under some regulated self defense laws, where it would be allowed to shoot and kill a wild animal that comes onto your land.

Organizing hunts and going out in search of these animals is extremely unnecessary at this time. The little bit of harm they have done can be curbed with certain precautionary actions, and handled by the individual landowner. Their population has grown, however not nearly enough for the hunting of them to be justified as "population control". 

Dead animals are not trophies. We must learn to share this land with the ones who have been on it long before we have. The DNR states in their wolf management plan “(wolves) have been part of the Great Lakes fauna since the melting of the last glacier (wolf management, page 12)".

We can protect Michigan's wolf population by creating laws to protect farmers that kill wolves on their property in an act of defense, helping farmers and landowners in Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula outline their land with various "repellents" to keep all kinds of unwanted beings away, and organize nonlethal hunts where wolves are tranquilized and moved to Isle Royal, where they are meant to be and their population can flourish without bothering the residents of Michigan. 

Please take a minute to sign this petition to have the current wolf hunting laws in Michigan repealed and reformed.