Kathleen and Dennis Mertzig, who live near Minong in northern Wisconsin, secured a special permit from the state Department of Natural Resources to kill predating wolves in May not long after a wolf killed one of their pet dogs on the lawn of their rural Washburn County home.

“It happened right in our yard,” Kathleen Mertzig said. “And it was horrible.

”The permit was a comfort because they have other dogs and other animals, and wolves are numerous in the area. Still, last week, the Mertzigs received a call from the DNR and were notified that the permit was no longer valid because of a change in the wolf’s status.

For the fifth time in six years, the gray wolf last week was returned to the federal endangered species list after being removed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Removal of the wolf from protected status was prevented once again by a lawsuit filed by a number of groups, including the Humane Society of the United States and the Center for Biological Diversity.

The organizations successfully argued that the Fish and Wildlife Service must provide more opportunity for public comment on the plan to delist wolves in the Upper Midwest. The groups also contend that the government needs to better document the impacts of possible hunting seasons and other causes of wolf mortality, including disease, on returning wolf populations.

The Fish and Wildlife Service indicated last week that it will solicit more public input before proceeding with decisions about whether to once again seek delisting of the wolf.

Operating with federal oversight

Adrian Wydeven, a DNR ecologist who helps oversee Wisconsin’s wolf recovery plan, said the uncertainty over the wolf’s status is making it difficult for the state to provide consistent management of resurgent wolf populations. Most problematic, he said, is that, with the wolf on the endangered species list, the state has to rely completely on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to remove problem wolves.

With the wolf off the list, the state has more flexibility to remove wolves that are killing livestock or pets. State wildlife managers can trap and kill wolves that prey on livestock. And the DNR can issue permits for landowners to shoot wolves in some areas under very limited conditions.

The Mertzigs in Minong, for example, were issued a permit after their dog Nikki, a shiba inu, was killed by a wolf one morning after Kathleen Mertzig let the dog outside.

“She didn’t come back,” Kathleen Mertzig said. “So I went outdoors and there the wolf was standing and just staring. ... It was 75 feet away. He was huge.”

Nikki’s partially eaten body was found not far away. Later, DNR wildlife experts trapped the wolf responsible and identified it based on measurements of tooth marks. The wolf was killed and the Mertzigs were issued a permit that would allow them to kill any other predating wolves on their property. They retained the permit until last week when the wolf’s changed status prompted the DNR to rescind that permit and 17 others.

“It’s extremely frustrating,” Wydeven said.

Eight wolf attacks in 2009

Wolves in Wisconsin have attacked livestock on eight farms so far in 2009 and have attacked three dogs at homes. Wisconsin, Wydeven said, has trapped and killed eight problem wolves, and a landowner has shot one wolf that was attacking his livestock. In 2008, the DNR issued shooting permits to 39 landowners with wolf problems. Two of the landowners shot wolves. Two additional wolves were shot by landowners who saw wolves attacking livestock.

Wydeven said a major concern with the uncertain status of the wolf — paired with the inability of landowners to protect their property —  is that public opinion will turn against the successful wolf recovery effort. The latest counts show between 626 and 662 wolves in Wisconsin, about a 14 percent increase over 2007-2008 estimates.

Michael Robinson, with the Center for Biological Diversity, said most landowners are taking steps to protect their livestock without resorting to shooting wolves. He said trapping and removal of problem wolves by the USDA should be adequate to quell concerns about wolf predation.

In addition to limiting the state’s ability to control problem wolves, last week’s return of the wolf to endangered status also raises questions about a potential hunting season on wolves in Wisconsin. A new management plan being considered by the DNR includes plans for a hunt. But such a hunt would be contingent on the wolf being removed from the endangered species list. Even were the wolf removed from the list, Wydeven said, a hunting season would take as long as five years to put in place and would require extensive public input as well as approval from the state Legislature.