I don't think its been announced yet for sure. I could be wrong, but I can't find anything on the dates yet.
It did not take long for Wisconsin's state legislators to get their ducks in a row after federal delisting efforts of the gray wolf in the Great Lakes region passed national review last month. Assmbly Bill 502, introduced in front of the State Assembly earlier this week, has already taken on significant changes after members of the Wisconsin Legislature began digging through the bill that will allow for the first-ever Wisconsin wolf hunt. Dates of the first wolf hunt were set and will begin Oct.15 and extend through the last day of February 2013. A vote to limit the season, starting with the first day of the gun deer season and extending into Jan. 15, 2013, was shot down. Legislators set in-state license fees at $90.25 while those out-of-state hunters would pay a fee of $495.25. There will also be a $9.75 processing fee associated with every license application. Along with introducing a price for licenses, guidelines were also set for depredation cases for wolves that either injure or kill when the wolf is not listed on the endangered species or protected wildlife list. According to DNR biologist Adrian Wydeven, those changes were made to make sure program dollars stay allotted for wolf management. "[The change was made] to separate the payment programs," Wydeven said. "Under the proposed wolf harvest a new payment program would be developed [for depredation cases], while currently wolves are reimburses under the endangered resources program, but would stop paying once the wolves become a harvested game species." With a harvest season looming, the change would ensure that payment would still be allotted to those farmers, landowners, pet owners, etc., who file a depredation case with the Wisconsin DNR. Amendments also included literature that allowed the department the ability to set maximum payment amounts for depredation cases, depending upon the type of animal killed. Another big change was the elimination of the landowner hunt which had been written in to give landowners a month span to hunt wolves, without a carcass tag or license. Originally, the bill gave those landowners the right to hunt on their property during the month of February if their land was inside a wolf management area. That is no more. All wolves harvested must be done so by someone carrying a valid license which must be purchased prior to hunting. Night hunting was one area that a proposed amendment attempted to eliminate, but it failed on a vote of 9-5. On a separate vote, the Wisconsin DNR would not pay depredation fees to hunters who lose a dog while those dogs are either being trained to hunt, or being used in an active hunt for wolves. That amendment failed 10-4. The number of zones to be controlled by the DNR was also changed. The original thought was to divide the wolf hunt area into a maximum four separate zones. That line was deleted from the bill and now allows the DNR to implement an unlimited amount of zones that could be managed differently. A telephone registration system would be implemented for reporting wolf kills. That method would still be used, but it would also give the DNR authority to order any person who harvests a wolf, to present the animal in person at a certified DNR registration station. After all amendments were considered, the approval of the bill to send to the full Assembly for a vote was passed 13-1 with the only Committee on Natural Resources member voting against it being Democrat Brett Hulsey of Madison.
