Michigan Wolf Conflict Update 2015

Author: Brian Roell of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Presentation given at the 2015 Midwest Wolf Stewards Conference at Northland College. April 2015.

Transcript

1. D.Beyer Michigan Wolf Conflict Update 2015 Brian Roell Michigan Department of Natural Resources
2. A Common Theme When Investigating Livestock Depredation
3. Farm Density In Michigan > 900 Livestock farms > 2,100 Livestock farms ~ 1 farm/18 mi2 ~ 1 farm/5 mi2
4. Public Act 487 Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) is the lead agency responsible for responding to claims of livestock depredation caused by wolves, coyotes and cougars. Reimbursements for missing animals are now possible if the depredation was caused by wolves. Affidavit for Depredation Compensation and EFT instructions. If the department fails to make the indemnification payment within a 45-day time period, the person is entitled to receive twice the amount of the original claim.
5. Wolf Depredation of Livestock 1998-2014: 249 Livestock depredation events 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 Livestock Depredation Events Year
6. Year Cattle Sheep Goat Swine Chickens Ducks Turkeys Geese Game Birds Rabbits Cervids Totals 1996 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1997 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1998 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1999 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2000 2 1 0 0 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 11 2001 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2002 4 0 0 0 14 0 7 0 0 0 0 25 2003 11 2 0 0 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 26 2004 7 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 12 2005 2 7 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 2006 9 4 0 0 35 0 0 0 0 0 0 48 2007 17 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 24 2008 13 0 0 0 0 12 0 38 40 12 0 115 2009 11 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 2010 58 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 66 2011 47 7 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 55 2012 52 11 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 64 2013 11 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 2014 26 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 26 Totals 277 53 1 1 70 13 7 39 41 12 2 516 Depredation on Livestock 1996-2014 Total 516 Cattle 277
7. Wolf Abundance and Number of Livestock Depredation Events in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, 1996-2014 y = 0.0468x - 6.2021 R² = 0.5582 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 Livestock depredation events Wolf abundance
8. INDEMNIFICATION Year MDA IWC Missing Total 1998 $612.50 NA NA $612.50 1999 $400.00 NA NA $400.00 2000 $850.00 NA NA $850.00 2001 $1,450.00 $750.00 NA $2,200.00 2002 $3,081.00 $567.50 NA $3,648.50 2003 $4,370.00 $350.00 NA $4,720.00 2004 $4,575.00 $860.00 NA $5,435.00 2005 $1,510.00 $380.00 NA $1,890.00 2006 $1,765.00 $825.00 NA $2,590.00 2007 $5,564.75 $1,095.00 NA $6,659.75 2008 $7,264.90 $1,700.00 NA $8,964.90 2009 $3,526.50 $1,170.00 NA $4,696.50 2010 $20,026.50 $2,355.01 NA $22,381.51 2011 $15,754.50 NA NA $15,754.50 2012 $20,530.00 NA NA $20,530.00 2013 $3,260.00 NA $1,550.00 $4,810.00 2014 $17,916.66 NA $11,083.34 $29,000.00 Totals $112,457.31 $10,052.51 $12,633.34 $135,143.16
9. Wolf Depredation of Dogs 1996-2014: 72 Dog depredation events 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Dog Depredation Events Year
10. Wolf Depredation of Dogs 1996-2014 • 82 dogs killed; 25 injured • 73% (60) involved hounds (bear / rabbit) • No compensation • Annual losses vary • Management options focus on prevention 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 Dog Depredations Year
11. Wolf Abundance and Number of Dog Depredation Events in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, 1996-2014 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 Dog depredation events Wolf abundance
12. Number of wolf packs involved with depredation of livestock and dogs in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, 1996-2014. In 2014, fourteen packs (11%) of the estimated number packs were known to have caused depredation. 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 Number of Wolf Packs Year Livestock Dogs
13. Michigan Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Division Procedure 2012 - Permits were issued to 15 property owners and 11 wolves were killed. 2013 – Permits were issued to 6 property owners and 6 wolves were killed. 2014 - Permits were issued to 9 property owners and 0 wolves were killed. All permits were recalled after 12/19/14
15. Michigan's Wolf Livestock Demonstration Project Grant Program This grant has provided funding to 29 farms, which allowed for the placement of 31 donkeys and 17 fencing projects
16. 2010 – 2012 Livestock Depredation Events 2013 Hunt Units
17. 2013 & 2014 Livestock Depredation Events 2013 Hunt Units
18. Wolf Activity Reports 62 47 100 66 72 74 117 92 41 53 56 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Number of Reports Year
19. Wolf Control (not including harvest) Total 113 73 Livestock 30 Human Safety Year 4d rule 10a- 1A Permit Human Safety, USFWS (50 CFR 17.21) Federal Delisted State Threatened Human Safety after Federal Delisting Livestock State and Federal Delisted Dogs State and Federal Delisted PA 290 PA 318 Damage Control Permit Human Safety; State and Federal Delisted Research related Total 2003 4 NA 0 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 0 4 2004 5 NA 1 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 0 6 2005 NA 2 4 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 0 6 2006 NA 7 0 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 0 7 2007 NA NA 3 14 1 NA NA NA NA NA NA 0 18 2008 NA NA NA 8 1 NA NA NA NA NA NA 0 9 2009 NA NA NA NA NA 1 NA NA NA NA 0 0 1 2010 NA NA 5 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 0 5 2011 NA NA 4 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 0 4 2012 Delisted 1 0 6 0 11 8 0 26 2013 Delisted 0 0 4 0 6 2 0 12 2014 Delisted 0 8 4 1 0 1 1 15 Total 9 9 17 22 2 2 8 14 1 17 11 1 113
20. 2014 Dog Depredation Events
21. 2013 & 2014 Dog Depredation Events
22. D.Beyer Questions? Brian Roell 1990 US-41 South Marquette MI 49855 906-228-6561