State Roundup: When might a Wisconsin wolf hunting/trapping season take place if wolves are delisted?

Now that a federal wold delisting bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Dec. 18 the next big question just might be that of when will Wisconsin see its next wolf hunting and trapping season.

The short answer? That depends. Mostly on action from the U.S. Senate and President Donald Trump, but it would also depend on the federal wolf delisting date.

When that bill passed the House on Dec. 18 everyone waited to see if the Senate would take up the bill before Christmas. Had that happened, the chances of seeing a Wisconsin wolf season before the end of February would have been more likely than it is now.

As of the writing of this column on Dec. 29, nothing had moved on the Senate front. If there were to be enough time for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to put together a season with an opening date of, say, Feb. 21, a Saturday, we’d have to see some Senate action by the first week of January or maybe into the early part of the second week of January – and a quick turnaround on the delisting date.

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I checked in with the DNR’s Randy Johnson ahead of the vote in the U.S. House of Representatives for his thoughts on how a season might roll out, depending on the whens and wheres of House, Senate, and presidential actions on this item.

“The Senate could vote either before or after Christmas. If it makes it to law, there are usually effective dates associated with rulemaking, and that could reasonably be expected to push the actual delisting date out from weeks to a couple months,” said Johnson, the DNR’s large carnivore specialist. “The Wisconsin state statute which directs the DNR to hold a wolf season indicates the season runs from the first Saturday of November to the end of February. So I can confidently say no season in March or later, until next fall. If delisting becomes effective prior to Feb. 28, the agency (DNR) would have to make a decision and certainly a part of that decision would be logistics of a license lottery, etc.

“For reference, last time around, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced delisting on Nov 4, 2020, with a 60-day effective date of Jan. 4, 2021. Ahead of the delisting on Jan. 4, 2021, the DNR announced in December 2020 that a wolf harvest season would begin in November 2021. The Natural Resources Board held a special meeting to consider a winter season and voted in agreement with the DNR to wait until fall to hold a season. On Feb. 11, 2021, a state circuit court judge ordered the DNR to schedule a wolf harvest season in February. The Wisconsin Department of Justice filed an appeal and requested a stay, which was denied on Feb. 19. The DNR complied with the circuit court order to implement a wolf harvest season in February 2021,” Johnson said.

That sounds to me like we probably shouldn’t be looking for a wolf hunting and trapping season before November.

THE NEW YEAR is upon us. All of the usual suspects here at Wisconsin Outdoor News wish nothing but the best to you and yours in 2026.

Take the time to make 2026 your best year in the outdoors yet. I keep trying to do that very thing for myself and my family every year. I’d like to think I’m mildly successful at doing so, but if your life is anything like mine “busy things” creep into each day, robbing us of minutes and hours outdoors.

I’m making a vow right now that I’m going to get the kids and grandkids out on the water and into the woods more than ever in 2026. I hope you’re able to do the same. Have a super year.