Michigan Might start Wolf Hunts

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Rick Snyder has signed a bill that could lead to the first wolf hunting season in Michigan since the predator was placed on the endangered species list in 1974.

The new law empowers the state Natural Resources Commission to decide which types of animals can be hunted. Previously, only the Legislature had that authority. The commission could decide during a meeting Thursday whether to schedule a hunt for this fall, as recommended by the Department of Natural Resources.

DNR biologists recommend letting hunters kill up to 43 wolves in three areas of the Upper Peninsula. Michigan would become the sixth state to authorize hunting wolves since federal protections were removed over the past two years in the western Great Lakes and the Northern Rockies, where the animals are thriving.