Michigan’s controversial wolf hunting season is underway in the Upper Peninsula.
The first wolf was bagged by a hunter shortly after dawn in Baraga County.
The Michigan Public Radio Network’s Rick Pluta tells us opponents are still trying to make the state’s first wolf season the final one.
The Keep Michigan Wolves Protected Campaign succeeded in blocking the first state law that allowed a wolf hunt, and now it’s back in the field with another petition drive to challenge a second wolf-hunting law.
Jill Fritz is with the campaign. She says the Legislature circumvented the will of voters who signed petitions.
“It’s a sad day for wolves, and for conservation, and for the democratic process here in Michigan,” she says.
Fritz says the campaign expects to submit its petition signatures in March to put a second wolf-hunting referendum on the 2014 ballot.
The state Department of Natural Resources says the hunt is necessary to address wolf attacks on pets and livestock in the UP.