By Dave Orrick
Two iconic animals of Minnesota — the gray wolf and the bald eagle — have been removed from the state’s watch list.
On Monday, the Department of Natural Resources officially removed the two animals from its list of species described as endangered, threatened or of “special concern.”
The changes — 300 in all — are the state’s first major revisions to the list of more than 400 species since 1996. None should come as a surprise; the changes were proposed in December, and the media widely covered several of the proposed changes to charismatic mammals, such as the addition of moose, whose numbers are falling fast.
The state list is not to be confused with the federal Endangered Species Act; state endangered status doesn’t confer the same protection. Great Lakes wolves were removed from the federal list last year, and in the fall the state held its first regulated hunting and trapping season.
Bald eagles are hardly a rarity any more — many can be seen in the metro — and also have been removed from the federal list. Bald eagles remain protected nationwide, however, via the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act of 1940.
Twenty-nine species of animals, plants and fungi were removed from the state list Monday, while 180 were added.
Every species removed, such as the snapping turtle, represents a success, said Rich Baker, endangered species coordinator for the DNR.
“The ultimate goal of putting a plant or animal on the list isn’t to put up walls around it; it’s to restore its health and get it back off the list,” Baker said in a statement. “There are plenty of examples of that happening, and it doesn’t have to come at the expense of sustainable economic development.”
For information, go to dnr.state.mn.us/ets/index.html