Wis. DNR seeking volunteers to count wolves

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is seeking volunteers to help locate and count timber wolves.

Wisconsin wolves were removed from the federal endangered species list this year. The state wants to monitor the population, and there's a federal requirement do it for the first five years after delisting.

Those interested in volunteering would have to take a training session on animal tracking and ecology. The next ones are Dec. 1 in Babcock and Dec. 8 and Dec. 9 in Tomahawk.

Volunteer trackers are assigned survey blocks in northern and central Wisconsin forests. They would be asked to conduct three or more surveys each winter.

Kurt Thiede, the DNR's Division Administrator of Lands, says the surveys are important for the long-term management of wolves and other carnivores in Wisconsin.