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View Full Version : Minnesota ready to assume state’s wolf management again: News Releases: Minnesota DNR



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12-22-2011, 11:05 AM
Minnesota’s gray wolves will be removed from the federal government’s threatened species list and returned to state management in January.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today it will publish a final delisting rule in the Federal Register on Dec. 28. After a 30-day period, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will reassume management of this species.

“We are pleased with the final decision to delist wolves in the region,” said DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr. “This is a great success for the Endangered Species Act. Minnesota is ready to assume management of wolves under the guidance of the state’s wolf plan.”

Minnesota has a population of about 3,000 gray wolves, the largest population in the lower 48 states. This is roughly twice the number required in the federal government’s wolf recovery plan. The DNR, as it did after previous delisting rules in 2007 and 2009, will again manage the state’s wolf population according to a management plan and under authorities approved by the state Legislature in 2000.

The federal government has twice before delisted the gray wolf in Minnesota and the western Great Lakes from federal protection. In both instances these decisions were overturned in federal court due to legal challenges relating to procedural processes unrelated to wolf conservation management.

“Today’s announcement by the federal government reaffirms the fact that the wolf is not threatened or endangered in Minnesota,” said Landwehr. “Minnesota’s wolf population has been above federal recovery goals for our state since 1989. Our management plan will ensure the long-term survival of this species.”

Landwehr said modern wolf management balances the survival of this iconic species with the legitimate concerns of rural residents whose domestic animals are preyed upon. Under the state law, owners of livestock, domestic animals or pets may shoot or destroy wolves that pose an immediate threat to their animals. Minnesota’s wolf management laws divide the state into two management zones with more protective regulations in the northern third of Minnesota, considered the wolf’s core range.

The state’s wolf management plan, created in 2001 after extensive public input, is designed to protect wolves and monitor their populations while resolving conflicts between wolves and humans.

The state will assume management just as federal funding ends for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) wolf depredation program in Minnesota, which traps and kills gray wolves on farms where wolf depredation occurs. Most of the funding for the program, operated by Wildlife Services under the USDA, ends on Dec. 31, 2011, and the program is currently winding down. Under that program, 150-200 wolves causing damage to domestic animals were removed annually.

Under state management, owners of domestic animals will have more authority to control wolves themselves and the state will also offer the services of certified private predator controllers. The degree to which a level of government wolf control similar to that previously administered by USDA Wildlife Services could be continued is an issue that will require additional discussion among state agriculture officials, livestock producers, state lawmakers and the DNR.

Minnesota’s management plan establishes a minimum population of 1,600 wolves to ensure long-term wolf survival. Estimated at about 750 animals in the early 1970s, the state’s wolf population has stabilized at about 3,000 animals today.

Federal law requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to monitor wolves in Minnesota for five years after delisting to ensure recovery continues. Similar to federal regulations, state law allows anyone to take a wolf to defend human life.

Last summer, the Legislature eliminated a five-year waiting period on wolf seasons once delisting occurs. This means a hunting and trapping season could be authorized by rule after providing for public comment.

The DNR is in the preliminary stages of developing a framework for a wolf hunting and trapping season and will be working closely with the Legislature on the specific parameters of a potential season. Sound scientific criteria and monitoring methods will be used in designing any seasons. Gray wolves are currently legally hunted in Alaska, Idaho and Montana.

Learn more about Minnesota’s wolf management plan.