Social Network

Email: timberwolfinfonetwork@gmail.com
Email: timberwolfinfonetwork@gmail.com

MN: DNR says wolf hunting could start this year in Minnesota

Article by: PAUL WALSH , Star Tribune

After 35 years of federal protection, the gray wolf could be subjected to hunting and trapping as soon as late this year, state wildlife officials said Friday.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is taking a “deliberate and science-based” approach to implementing initial wolf hunting and trapping seasons, said DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr.

“The wolf population has been fully recovered in Minnesota for many years,” said Dan Stark, the DNR’s large carnivore specialist. “Our hunting and trapping season approach will be designed to keep it that way. No one wants to see this species needing federal protection again.”

Minnesota has an estimated 3,000 wolves. The DNR says that number has remained stable for the past 10 years.

“Our job, as a natural resource agency, is to implement the state’s Wolf Management Plan, which includes provisions for public taking of wolves,” Landwehr said in a statement. “That means we will be taking actions to ensure the long-term survival of the species while also addressing conflicts between wolves and humans.”

The DNR is calling the restoration of the wolf population in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Upper Michigan “a national success story.”

In July, the Minnesota Legislature eliminated a five-year waiting period for a wolf season following delisting of the animal from federal protection beginning Jan 27.

The specifics of any proposed seasons require legislative approval. There also will be formal opportunities for public comment.

Stark said the agency will propose managing wolves as a high-value fur species and set the seasons when pelts are prime. There would be a lottery for licenses, and the animals taken would have to be registered.

Minnesota has an estimated 3,000 wolves. Wolf numbers and their distribution have remained stable for the past 10 years.

Source