Predator Xtreme - Feb 2012
Managing Great Lakes Wolves tion and thus should be managed as one distinct population of wolves of mixed genetic ancestry With the largest population of wolves 3000 and counting in the Lower 48 states Minnesota has the most to gain from the delisting And resident hunters and trappers might not have to wait long for a controlled harvest thanks to a recent legislative bill which altered the language of the states Wolf Management Plan A recent budget bill signed into law to end Minnesotas historic 2011 government shutdown deleted three important words for five years from the states 10 year old wolf management plan In a special session that occurred after the shutdown the game and fish bill normally passed separately during regular session was absorbed into the environment bill and included changes to wolf management following delisting The legislation was aimed at a clause in the previous wolf bill that authorized the DNR to consider public taking of wolves hunting and trapping seasons but no sooner than five years after delisting This five year moratorium on any wolf harvest corresponded with the USFWS federal five year monitoring period The change in wording will allow the DNR to begin the process of determining whether Minnesotans want a wolf harvest season immediately after delisting After delisting the Minnesota DNR commissioner may prescribe open seasons and restrictions for taking gray wolves but only after providing opportunity for public comment Dan Stark wolf specialist for the Minnesota DNR says that prior to this change the DNR would have had five years following delisting of the gray wolf to think about how to proceed with a wolf season and whether a limited harvest would be in the best interest of wolves and people in Minnesota The legislation does not 68 www PredatorXtreme com FEBRUARY 2012 necessarily change the way we will determine if Minnesota should have a wolf harvest it only allows us to begin the decision making process earlier Stark said At this stage we are in the very early phase of developing a planning process on how to proceed with developing a wolf season or not Additionally the new legislation includes the gray wolf in the definition of small game in the game and fish laws This means that if a wolf season were established hunters might only need a small game license to hunt wolves during an established wolf harvest season If the DNR were to decide that a separate license is more appropriate for a wolf harvest legislative approval would be required to make that change However until the planning process begins no decisions will be made Once the management of wolves of the Western Great Lake DPS is back in the hands of state managers theres a glimmer of hope that logic and science might play a larger role in how this predator is managed For state managers such as Stark this only makes sense since the wolves have recovered to ESA standards Its the purpose of the ESA to recognize when a species is no longer in danger of extinction or threatened with being endangered Stark said This is a significant achievement and it illustrates that endangered species can recover to the point that they no longer need that level of protection The state has more flexibility to respond and address conflicts with wolves and humans Individuals can kill wolves under certain conditions to protect livestock and pets under state management that they cannot under federal management Animal rights groups will no doubt cry wolf again and oppose the delisting as a threat to the survival of wolves in the tri state area Stark says the argument that the de listing would lead to mass killings or abuses doesnt hold Great Lakes Region Wolf Timeline Prior to European settlement the gray wolf inhabited most of North America Seen as a threat to livestock wolves were extirpated from the West by the 1930s Only a small number of wolves survived in Michigan Minnesota and Wisconsin Western Great Lakes DPS by the early 1900s A wolf bounty was in effect in Minnesota from 1849 1965 By the 1950s wolves were eliminated from southern and western Minnesota By the mid 1960s wolves were eliminated from Michigan and Wisconsin except Isle Royale Michigan In 1965 the wolf bounty ended but wolves could still be legally trapped and hunted year round in Minnesota about 250 annually In 1974 gray wolves were afforded full protection under the federal Endangered Species Act in the Lower 48 states In March 2007 wolves in the Western Great Lakes DPS were removed from the federal Endangered Species List On Sept 29 2008 the U S District Court for the District of Columbia overturned this decision and wolves were once again listed as threatened or endangers under the federal ESA In May 2011 the U S Fish and Wildlife Service USFWS published a rule in the Federal Register to remove gray wolves of the Western Great Lakes DPS and portions of adjoining states from the endangered and threatened species lists Fall 2012 wolf hunting seasons in Michigan Minnesota and Wisconsin Stay tuned
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