Today, Wolf Patrol citizen monitors were in the Drummond, Wisconsin area of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest (CNNF), where on July 30, wolves killed a bear hound. We traveled as close as we could to the actual depredation site, and were not surprised to find the area heavily baited for bears. We documented the presence of multiple bear baits in the Wolf Caution Area established on July 30, and then returned to the Washburn  District of the CNNF.

At the heart of our concern is bear hunting activities in known wolf territory where wolves have responded with violent attacks against bear hounds. These fights leave not only hounds and wolves injured or killed, but also leave hound hunters wanting retribution against the wolves responsible. The reason we are in the CNNF, is because of the constant threats made against wolves responsible for hound deaths.

Because of active logging activity near our original base camp at Hoist Lake, we moved our camp to another area where we could monitor suspected illegal activities committed by bear hunters in our patrol area. At approximately 5:20pm, a non-resident bear hunter stopped at our campsite to talk to our crew, and we welcomed his willingness to engage in civil discussion, although we had to decline his request to fight to the death.