MN wolf talk

[MN Public Hunter]

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mammals/wolves/mgmt.html

Fin can now come hunt East of CO in his old home state if a season happens.

 

[TOM IN TENNESSEE]

Good bureaucratic annoncement.....BUT, does WMP include hunters? A season?

 

[mconway951]

If i recall we need to have them delisted for 5 years before a season can be established

 

[MN Public Hunter]

If i recall we need to have them delisted for 5 years before a season can be established

Really? If that it the case that's crap. We have twice to number we need to delist, well per the article anyway. My friends who grouse hunt up north run I to them all the time up there. Time to thin the heard a little.

 

[mtmiller]

If i recall we need to have them delisted for 5 years before a season can be established

I think you are referring to 5 years of monitoring. I doubt this would preclude hunting, but I have been wrong before.

 

[mconway951]

Population management activities -- Population management measures, including
public taking (i.e., hunting and trapping seasons) or other options, will be considered by
DNR in the future but not sooner than 5 years after Federal delisting by USFWS. If, in the
future, public taking is proposed by DNR, there will be opportunity for full public
comment. Decisions on public taking will be based on sound biological data, including
comprehensive population surveys.

Copied right from the WMP on the website listed above

 

[Ben Lamb]

Miller or some of the other guys might know this better than I, but it's going to be tough to get a hunting season instituted before the 5 year period outlined in the plan is over. Changing a USFWS approved plan can trigger a review of the status of the species. While that isn't necessarily a ticket to relisting, it does give the anti-hunters more of a stake than if it was left alone. You will run into considerable resistance from the state and the fed to change that plan, as it means a lot more work.

Good luck.

 

[Gunflint]

MN DNR press release

I'm thinking we snowshoe into the BWCA, put up the wall tent


Correcting date
DNR news releases for Jan. 9, 2012
Limited wolf season possible in 2012
Minnesota wildlife officials have begun to plan for a limited gray wolf hunting and trapping season in late 2012.
This action follows last month's announcement that wolves will return to state management
Jan. 27, following roughly 35 years of federal protection.
Tom Landwehr, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), said the agency is taking a "deliberate and science-based" approach to implementing initial wolf hunting and trapping seasons.
"Our job, as a natural resource agency, is to implement the state's Wolf Management Plan, which includes provisions for public taking of wolves," said Landwehr. "That means we will be taking actions to ensure the long-term survival of the species while also addressing conflicts between wolves and humans."
Landwehr said the wolf's recovery in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Upper Michigan is a national success story. The Minnesota DNR, he said, is committed to continuing that success.
Last July, the Minnesota Legislature eliminated a five-year waiting period for a wolf season following delisting of the animal from federal protection. In the weeks ahead, DNR biologists will begin to identify wolf management harvest units and develop other criteria specific to a Minnesota season. Components of the proposed season framework must still be approved by the Legislature, and a chance for public comment will be provided later this year.
"Without a history of regulated wolf seasons, we don't know what kind of hunter and trapper interest and success rate to expect," said Dan Stark, DNR large carnivore specialist. For these reasons, he said, it is necessary to be conservative during initial seasons.
Stark said the DNR proposal would manage wolves as a prized and high-value fur species by setting the season when pelts are prime, limiting the take through a lottery and requiring animals be registered.
This approach, he said, is different than simply allowing hunters to shoot a wolf as an "incidental take" while primarily pursuing another species such as deer. "Minnesota is different than other areas where wolf hunting is offered, in part, because we have much higher hunter densities and a more compressed big-game hunting season," Stark said.
"Our proposal is a separate season that takes into account when pelts are prime and have their highest value," Stark said. "This approach will provide hunters and trappers the opportunity to specifically target wolves while minimizing conflicts with other hunting seasons."
Minnesota has an estimated 3,000 wolves. Wolf numbers and their distribution have remained stable for the past 10 years.
Stark said the DNR presented its wolf hunting proposal to lawmakers earlier this week during a legislative hearing. The agency will be seeking additional authorization from the Legislature this session to offer a wolf license and implement management strategies. It will also take public comment prior to finalizing and implementing a wolf season.
"The wolf population has been fully recovered in Minnesota for many years," said Stark. "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."

 

[StrutNut]

I think it will be the trappers doing the most good for us. I have followed enough posts on this and other sites to see that the wolves have figured out the hunting pressure and the dead rabbit deal. It wont take long for that to happen here as well. With the heavier wood cover and public land lines it will be difficult to locate and cut off wolves and near impossible to spot. I would guess they will quickly avoid open spaces. If drawn I might try some deer in distress things to see what happens. Maybe a couple of coyote decoys and a deer decoy. Hope the old wolf might come in to steal a kill. It will be fun to learn how to hunt them!

 

[shoots-straight]

Minnesota's plan states that there won't be any hunting of the wolves for 5 years after delisting. That was written in 01 (I think). Michigan has a state plan that calls for hunting. Wisconsin didn't even have any mention of hunting as a tool to manage wolves with.

I think this is what the Feds approved. If they didn't approve the New Version that the state legislature changed, then I think there might me more litigation.

 

[Gunflint]

DNR releases proposal for wolf harvest season this fall

DNR releases proposal for wolf harvest season this fall
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is proposing an inaugural gray wolf hunting and trapping season this fall that calls for a conservative harvest quota of 400 animals.

Wolf research indicates Minnesota's wolf population could sustain a higher quota, but DNR officials say they are taking a measured approach to the state's first season.

The proposal sets a quota of 6,000 licenses that will be allocated through a lottery system. Only one license will be allowed per hunter or trapper. Hunting would be allowed with firearms, archery equipment and muzzleloaders. Calls and bait would be allowed with restrictions.

The season is proposed for the end of November and would be closed once the quota is met. Hunters would be required to register animals on the same day they are harvested and data would be collected from carcasses. Other states with harvest seasons for wolves and other big game animals similarly monitor seasons and close them when quotas are met.

DNR will outline its proposals to the Legislature on Thursday, Jan. 26 before the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee and the House Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee.

While the legislatively approved wolf management plan authorizes hunting and trapping seasons, the agency is seeking additional authorization from the state Legislature this session to offer a wolf license and implement other management strategies.
Legislators will have to pass a bill by the end of the session and the governor will have to sign it in order for a season to be held.

The DNR will also take public comments prior to finalizing and implementing a wolf season.

The initial season will allow wolf biologists to collect information on hunter and trapper interest and harvest success and will provide biological information on harvested wolves to help inform future wolf population management and monitoring. The state has an estimated population of 3,000 gray wolves and past surveys indicate the population is stable.

Wolves are prolific, survival of young is generally high and populations can offset effects of mortality caused by hunting and trapping seasons, DNR officials say.

The DNR intends to manage wolves as a prized and high-value fur species by setting the season when pelts are most prime, limiting the take through a lottery and requiring animals be registered.

DNR plans to adjust the framework of future wolf seasons based on information collected during the inaugural season. This adaptive management approach will result in progressive changes as the DNR learns how to best manage a wolf season in Minnesota. The wolf harvest quota does consider other causes of mortality such as removal due to livestock and domestic animal depredation and threats and vehicle collisions.

The agency will also be undertaking a new wolf population survey starting next winter.

Minnesota's population of Great Lakes gray wolves transitions from federal protection to state management on Friday, Jan. 27. That is when the DNR implements its state management plan, which is designed to ensure their long-term survival of wolves in the state.
The agency has three lead conservation officers designated to ensure enforcement of the state's wolf laws by conservation officers throughout the wolf range. The agency also has a wolf research biologist and management specialist.
Information on changes to regulations on taking wolves to protect domestic animals can be found online at www.mndnr.gov/wolves.