State and federal officials trapped and euthanized nine wolves in Price County after reports that the animals were approaching people and resisting efforts to scare them away. The Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission says it was not told about the reported threats or included in the decision-making process. The pack included four pups, three yearlings and two adults, according to the commission. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources officials said the wolves posed a threat to people following incidents reported in July 2025 and August 2026. The DNR said nonlethal deterrents had not worked. Records of three August complaints describe wolves near homes, yards and driveways. One report cited chickens killed by wolves; another said a wolf came within 20 yards of a man using a tractor to clear brush. A third described a wolf near a bear-bait bucket. Officials characterized the animals as increasingly accustomed to people and less responsive to hazing, which included sound, lights and other efforts to drive them off. But GLIFWC Executive Administrator Jason Schlender said the commission and its member tribes were not contacted about the reports, given relevant data or told what criteria officials used to decide to kill the animals. The commission said state and federal representatives had met with it multiple times since 2025 without raising the reported threats. “Simply handing us the remains of our relatives after killing them does not constitute meaningful consultation,” Schlender said. He said the decision had damaged relationships and undermined trust. The commission says Wisconsin is required to co-manage resources in ceded Indigenous territories, including the area where the wolves were killed. Gov. Tony Evers’ 2019 executive order also directs state agencies to consult tribal governments on matters that may affect tribal nations. For Lake Superior Ojibwe communities, wolves — known as Ma’iingan — are clan relatives and important cultural figures, the commission said. St. Croix Tribal Chairman Conrad St. John said tribal communities have coexisted with wolves for generations and that Wisconsin has no documented cases of wolf attacks on people. Wolf attacks on humans are rare, though officials cited concerns about the Price County animals’ behavior. GLIFWC Biological Services Director Alex Bohman said wolves can support healthier deer populations by preying on sick, weak or old animals. She urged state and federal agencies to work with tribal governments, combining traditional ecological knowledge with scientific data to determine how to manage wolves. The killing is the first time officials have killed wolves in Wisconsin since a 2022 court ruling restored federal endangered-species protections for the animals. The dispute comes amid broader debate over wolf management, including efforts to restart a state hunt. In 2021, tribal communities chose not to hunt wolves on their lands; hunters elsewhere in the state exceeded the state’s 200-wolf quota in less than three days.