Minneapolis Star Tribune, Jan. 7, 2012  DNR has many goals in plans for wolf hunting season

Minneapolis Star Tribune, Jan. 3, 2012  Trapping effective, but will there be interest?

Now that Minnesota’s gray wolf is slated to officially come off the federal endangered species list Jan. 27, 2012, state wildlife officials are planning a wolf hunting season. The state Department of Natural Resources says trapping and hunting wolves could occur next fall. After more than 30 years of federal protection, an estimated 3,000 of the wolves now live in Minnesota, by far the largest population in any of the lower 48 states.

The rules of a hunting season will be up to the Legislature.

Wildlife officials said that at least initially, they want the wolf to have its own hunting season between November and January, when the pelts are at their finest and the deer hunting season is over. They would also prefer a lottery system to sell a small number of licenses rather than an unlimited number sold over-the-counter. Ideally, such a design would help create a “hunting and conservation aesthetic” around the wolf that would elevate it to the status of a trophy animal, said Dan Stark, a wolf biologist for the Department of Natural Resources.

Legislators and top wildlife officials said their primary goal is to make certain the wolf doesn’t go back on the endangered species list — either because its numbers drop below 1,600, the minimum called for in the state’s plan, or because of a lawsuit by conservation groups that challenge the state’s management.

“We want to work toward keeping it under state control,” said Rep. Denny McNamara, R-Hastings, chairman of the House Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee.

Public input

McNamara said legislators are already hearing from constituents in northern Minnesota who want “a serious hunt” right away.

Officials said they have not yet settled on a quota for how many wolves could be shot or trapped. That would be decided by the Legislature, with input from the public through open hearings. They said they would like a plan that allowed larger numbers to be hunted in areas near agricultural and livestock regions, where there have been conflicts, a strategy that in the long run could reduce clashes between wolves and people.

The state’s plan also allows property owners in the northeast part of the state to kill wolves if they are an immediate threat to livestock or pets. On the more agricultural southern and western edges of the state’s 35,000-square-mile wolf range, the rule is even looser: Property owners can kill any wolf that is on their land.

The Minnesota Deer Hunters Association has already proposed an aggressive plan that includes an annual harvest of 750 wolves, and over-the-counter license sales for a season that would coincide with deer hunting.

Trapping

“A lot depends on the logistics of a hunting and trapping season, but I think trappers have the potential to more efficiently harvest wolves in Minnesota than hunters,” said John Hart, who has been trapping wolves for the federal government for more than 20 years.

However, once wolves become educated to traps, they could be much more difficult to catch, he says.

But there may not be much of a market for Minnesota’s wolf pelts, and it’s uncertain how much interest Minnesota’s 6,000 trappers will have.

Pelt prices probably won’t drive interest, trappers say. The value of a Minnesota wolf pelt would vary greatly depending on quality, but an average one might fetch $100.

“I assume the vast majority will end up on someone’s walls as trophies,” said Shawn Johnson, president of the Minnesota Trappers Association.

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DNR has many goals in plans for wolf hunting season

Trapping effective, but will there be interest?