Greetings!
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is updating its 2015 Wolf Management Plan, and has posted an online survey to obtain citizen input. You can participate in the survey through January 31, 2022.
Many of you have contacted us with questions since the survey was first released in early January. You've said that you want to participate in the survey. However, it is lengthy and requires familiarity with the current Plan, which runs to 101 pages. You also have expressed concern that some of the questions are unclear.
As the member representing animal advocacy on the Wolf Management Advisory Council, AFA encourages you to participate in the survey. As part of our role on the 6-member WMAC, we are providing these resources as a tool that will enable you to gain a working knowledge of the Plan in order to complete the survey.
These materials are a guide only. To be most effective, the survey responses should be in your own words. Please do not cut and paste in responding to the survey.
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A Guide by Nancy Warren, Executive Director of The National Wolfwatcher Coalition, who is a resident of the Upper Peninsula and a wolf advocate since the 1990s
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A Guide for Providing Input on Michigan's Wolf Management Plan. The DNR's own assessment regarding the 2015 Plan is available: Summary of Management Accomplishments. A compilation of practices and policies for wolf conservation and stewardship in the United States is available: www.wolfplanning.org.
We understand that the DNR will update the Plan using data from this survey and from a separate Public Attitude Survey; and from the recommendations made by the WMAC. The DNR will then release a draft Plan update, and take additional public comments at that time, expected to be in the middle of this year.
Please take the time to review the materials and participate in the survey. It is very important: Michigan is at a crossroads regarding its wolves. There is enormous pressure to begin a hunt. This is an opportunity for wolf advocates to have their voices heard: that you value wolves and do not want them to be hunted.
