The public comment period was initially slated to end Jan. 10 but the DNR extended the deadline to midnight Tuesday.
WISCONSIN WOLF HUNTERS EXCEED STATE'S QUOTA BY ALMOST DOUBLE DURING ABBREVIATED HUNT, DNR CONFIRMS
Asked when the DNR would release the comments, agency spokesperson Katie Grant said in an email to The Associated Press that the department plans to release them "eventually" but likely not as soon as Wednesday. She said the department needs to "process everything we've received and will make them publicly available as soon as possible."
A gray wolf is shown on April 18, 2008. Department of Natural Resources officials released their first new wolf management plan in almost 25 years in November of last year. The state's Department of Natural Resources has extended the public comment period deadline to midnight on Feb. 28, 2023. (Gary Kramer/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via AP, File)
WISCONSIN WINTER WOLF HUNT MAY NOT BE HELD THIS SEASON
Grant said in a follow-up email Tuesday morning that the DNR has received about 4,000 comments and needs time to put them in a format that is easily accessible online. She said the agency doesn't plan to edit content but will redact personal contact information and may remove inappropriate language.
"We hope to have (the comments) published as soon as we possibly can but are currently unable to put an exact timeline on the process," she said.
DNR officials have said they'll consider all feedback as they revise the wolf plan before submitting a final version to the agency's board for approval.