Wolves per sq mile

i just read an article how combined Idaho and Wyoming have an estimated wolf population of 1,900 animals. Idaho is 83,569 sq miles Wyoming is 97,914 sq miles for a total of 181,483 sq miles.   Wisconsin has a population of aprox 1,000 wolves and is 65,498 square miles. But yet some how they are endangered here?  Court fights go on and on what baloney 

In Price and Sawyer county I see as much wolf sign as bear sign and more wolf sign than bobcat sign. Tells me there are more wolves than they say. I do understand wolves more a lot more and faster than bear , but there is a lot of wolf sign.

One thing to keep in mind (that EVERYONE seems to quickly forget and media sources LOVE to ignore) is that the number of wolves the DNR says live in Wisconsin is a MINIMUM VERIFIED COUNT.

It is not an estimate.

Wolf spotters are designated to drive around specified areas and count tracks on roads, and count howling wolves.  Occasionally they get to see and count actual wolves.  This is problematic in that not all wolves in the state will have crossed a dirt road just before a spotter goes by, and not all wolves will howl when the spotter is out listening.

The actual number of wolves in Wisconsin is therefore considerably greater than the number the DNR reports.

Birdyboy, you have a valid concern about the wolf population number. Just look at the most recent wolf season numbers. From memory there was an estimate of 1,200 wolves in Wisconsin and the harvest number was 218. That is just over 18% of the population harvested in less than three days by a relatively small number of hunters. It would be difficult to believe that so few hunters could harvest that significant % of the population in such a short time frame. Also consider that the season was put together on short notice and some tag holders didn’t even get an opportunity since the season ended so quick. 

I don’t buy the population estimates from the DNR. I see a lot of wolf sign in the covers where I hunt grouse.  Piles loaded with bone and deer fur. 

Maybe I hunt areas with a more dense wolf population but their poop seems to be everywhere leading me to believe there a more out there than estimates indicate. 

You haven't figured in the population of loonies near Madison into the equation yet.  Add those, recalculate, and you should have the answer.