The Department of Natural Resources today announced that an arrest has been made in a wolf poaching case reported Nov. 17 in Iron County.

DNR conservation officers were contacted with reports of a dead wolf south of Iron River in Iron County on the evening of Nov. 17. Officers responding to the scene found a dead wolf dumped at the edge of a field that had apparently died of a gunshot wound. Evidence at the scene led the officers to a nearby hunting camp where a possible suspect was identified.

The suspect, who is from Green Bay and who had already returned home, was contacted by DNR conservation officers and agreed to return to Iron County to be served with arrest warrants and appear in court. The suspect will be arraigned in 95B District Court on Nov. 30, where it is expected he will be charged with illegally killing a wolf and hunting deer without a license.

The maximum penalty for poaching a wolf is 90 days in jail or a fine of up to $1,000, or both, plus reimbursement of $1,500 to the state for killing an endangered species. The maximum fine for hunting without a license is $500.

Wolves are a federally protected species in Michigan and cannot legally be killed except in the defense of human life. Anyone with tips about wolf poaching or other hunting violations should call the DNR's Report All Poaching line, 24 hours a day, at 800-292-7800.

For more information about the case, contact Sgt. Marc Pomroy at (906) 875-6622.