The Wisconsin DNR will refund the $10 application fee to customers who applied for a wolf harvest permit or preference point for the Fall 2021 wolf harvest season. The department will restore all customers' wolf preferences point records to their Fall 2021 pre-application status.

Following a federal court ruling on Feb. 10, wolves in the lower 48 states were returned to the Federal Endangered Species List. (The ruling excludes wolves in the northers Rocky Mountains region.) Under Wisconsin law, if the wolf is listed on the federal endangered list, the state is not authorized to implement a wolf harvest season.

The DNR claims a $10 refund check will arrive by US mail in four to six weeks. If needed, applicants may update their address is Go Wild before Feb. 24, 2022. Otherwise no other action is required at this time.

To add complications, the new ruling also cancels all permits issued to land owners with wolf conflicts that allow lethal removal of wolves. Also, the DNR may not authorize the use of legal control at a depredation case, nor may hunters train dogs to track wolves.