Minnesota sketches fall wolf hunting season

[Eric Marleau]

Minnesota's Wolf Management Plan to take effect Jan. 27

Minnesota's population of wolves will transition from federal protection to state management by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on Jan. 27, bringing with that transition a number of law changes.

Minnesota's Wolf Management Plan will protect wolves and monitor their population, but also give owners of livestock and domestic pets more protection from wolf depredation. The plans splits the state into two management zones, with more protective regulations in the northern third, considered the wolf's core range.

"The DNR is well-prepared to manage gray wolves and ensure the long-term survival of the species," said Ed Boggess, DNR Fish and Wildlife Division director. "The state's Wolf Management Plan will allow Minnesotans more flexibility to address the real conflicts that occur between wolves and humans."

The major change with state management is the ability of individual people to directly protect their animals from wolf depredation, subject to certain restrictions. In addition, the state-certified gray wolf predator control program will be available to individuals as another option to deal with livestock depredation.

The Wolf Management Plan has provisions for taking wolves that are posing risks to livestock and domestic pets. Owners of livestock, guard animal or domestic animals may shoot or destroy wolves that pose an immediate threat to their animals on property they own or lease, in accordance with local statutes. "Immediate threat" means observing a gray wolf in the act of stalking, attacking or killing livestock, a guard animal or a domestic pet under the supervision of the owner.

In addition, the owner of a domestic pet may shoot or destroy a gray wolf posing an immediate threat on any property, as long as the owner is supervising the pet.

In all cases, a person shooting or destroying a gray wolf under these provisions must protect all evidence and report the taking to a DNR conservation officer within 48 hours. The wolf carcass must be surrendered to the conservation officer.

In the southern two-thirds of Minnesota (Zone B), a person may shoot a gray wolf at any time to protect livestock, domestic animals or pets on land they own, lease or manage. The circumstance of "immediate threat" does not apply. A DNR conservation officer must be notified within 48 hours and the wolf carcass must be surrendered to the conservation officer. Also in Zone B, a person may employ a state-certified gray wolf predator controller to trap wolves on or within one mile of land they own, lease or manage.

Unlike federal regulations, state regulations allow harassment of wolves that are within 500 yards of people, buildings, livestock or domestic pets to discourage wolves from contacting people and domestic animals. Wolves cannot be attracted or searched out for purposes of harassment and cannot be physically harmed.

Similar to federal regulations, Minnesota's Wolf Management Plan allows anyone to take a wolf to defend human life. Any wolves taken must be reported to a DNR conservation officer within 48 hours, and evidence must be protected.

Although some level of agency wolf depredation control may be in place under a cooperative agreement between DNR and the Wildlife Services Division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, funding for this program has been eliminated as a result of federal budget cuts. The DNR is working with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and state livestock associations to identify funding that could support this program in the future.

The DNR already has staff in place to fully implement the state management plan, and to ensure that wolves continue to thrive in Minnesota while minimizing the inevitable conflicts that arise between wolves, humans and livestock. Dr. John Erb, DNR wolf research biologist, will continue to address wolf research and population monitoring needs. Stark will coordinate all wolf management activities in Minnesota.

The DNR has designated three conservation officers in the wolf range as lead officers to ensure enforcement of provisions of the Wolf Management Plan. These officers are Lt. Pat Znajda in Thief River Falls, Dave Olsen in Grand Rapids and Greg Payton in Virginia.

Mary Ortiz, executive director of the International Wolf Center based in Ely, said Minnesota is taking a thorough approach to wolf management through further wolf research and monitoring. She urged Minnesotans to learn more about the DNR's plan as a new era of state management unfolds. "This is a comprehensive and conservative plan with a very specific and highly controlled approach to wolf management," Ortiz said.

The state's wolf population, estimated at fewer than 750 animals in the 1950s, has grown to its current estimate of 3,000. The endangered species act requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to monitor wolves in Minnesota for five years after delisting to ensure that recovery continues. Minnesota's Wolf Management Plan establishes a minimum population of 1,600 wolves to ensure their long-term survival in the state.

Federal rules removing the Great Lakes population of wolves from the endangered species list also take effect Jan 27 in Wisconsin and Michigan.

The complete Minnesota Wolf Management Plan, zone maps, population survey information as well as a question and answer fact is available online at http://www.mndnr.gov/wolves.
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[Eric Marleau]

Above is a long read.
I received it yesterday from the DNR.
While working with Dave Mech many years ago, Dave said that the wolves could and should be controlled, but politics would get in the way.
30yrs later, we finally got it.

Eric

[grousemaster]

Guys up north have been harvesting them for years with 30-06, 7mm, .243 - heck any gun a guy is currently using for deer.

I never have myself, but plenty of stories............I guess the trick is to gut shoot so they run for a long time before they die. Not really in favor of the method, but the population has overrun some areas and with it being illegal, you get shot placement that makes sure the wolf doesn't die on your land.............

It'll be interesting to see if it is handled like moose permits, one license by lottery for your lifetime.

Come on man, anyone who purposefully tries for a gut shot on a wolf needs to take a look in the mirror. Put it down the right way or let it be.

[Eric Marleau]

I agree with Grouse Man.
I'm from "Up North" [Ely], and have never heard of anyone bragging about shooting a wolf.
I have heard guys say that they saw one and WISH that they could have shot it, but the extreme fine, and possibly jail time prevented them.

It is quite an experience if you are lucky enough to meet a wolf one on one alone in the woods as I have. I never even thought of killing it, and considered myself a lucky guy to have had that encounter.

I remember one time, I was leaving for work very early in the morning, and a wolf pack must have taken down a deer within a quarter mile from my house. Quite the experience of listening to the howls and yelps from that many wolves.

Eric

[grousemaster]

I agree with Grouse Man.
I'm from "Up North" [Ely], and have never heard of anyone bragging about shooting a wolf.
I have heard guys say that they saw one and WISH that they could have shot it, but the extreme fine, and possibly jail time prevented them.

It is quite an experience if you are lucky enough to meet a wolf one on one alone in the woods as I have. I never even thought of killing it, and considered myself a lucky guy to have had that encounter.

I remember one time, I was leaving for work very early in the morning, and a wolf pack must have taken down a deer within a quarter mile from my house. Quite the experience of listening to the howls and yelps from that many wolves.

Eric

I came face to face with a wolf for the first time this past fall while grouse hunting just east of Ely. It was pretty cool, it's hard to wrap your head around how big they actually are until you see one in person.

On another note, I'd like to know exactly which areas wolves have been "over run" as a previous poster stated.....there's only 3,000 in the whole state, so to over run an area would be quite a concentration of wolves in one place.

[Eric Marleau]

There actually is too many wolves right now.
In the White Iron-Garden Lake area, you see more wolf scat than deer droppings.
I have always said the wolves will never run out the deer herd, but the deer will be spooky just because the have been hunted year round.
I have had to eat my words on that one.
In the past few years, a great many deer have fled that area due to the wolf population.
Last winter compounded the bad situation due to heavy snow, a melt, then a freeze again.
Wolves can run on top of the frozen snow, while the deer go chest deep, allowing the wolf to have easy pickings.

The only way to truly control the wolf population is by trapping. Wolves are way too smart to hunt with a gun.
Out of all my years in the woods, and they are many, except while being with Dave Mech, I have only had encounters with wolves maybe a dozen times. One was walking out of beaver trapping area by Isabella Lake, in the old Forest Center area.
We were on the old North Logging road, and a few wolves were following us about a quarter mile behind. My friend had his dog with us, and they wanted a meal. Quite the experience

Eric

[grousemaster]

I know there's too many wolves, I guess IMO "overrun" is a strong term for an animal you can hardly ever even catch a glimpse of.

[tman]

I agree with Grouse Man.
I'm from "Up North" [Ely], and have never heard of anyone bragging about shooting a wolf.
I have heard guys say that they saw one and WISH that they could have shot it, but the extreme fine, and possibly jail time prevented them.

The motto up here is, "shoot, shovel, and shut up."

I imagine there are a lot of farmers that have done that. They just don't talk about it.

[DeanC]

The motto up here is, "shoot, shovel, and shut up."

I imagine there are a lot of farmers that have done that. They just don't talk about it.

Pretty much my experience as well. The gut-shooting is for the collared ones.

[Eric Marleau]

If I were a farmer, I would kill them on the spot.
No wolf is worth your livelihood.

If you are shallow enough to mess up a Biologist's study, you might as well kill him and then destroy the collar. Collar cost is the smallest budget on a very expensive study.
Just remember, the results of all of the studies are what got the wolf off of the endangered species list.

Eric

[yukonjasper]

I've had several encounters with wolves. While in the BWCA a buddy of mine thought it was cool to howl to a pack of wolves across the lake from us while around a camp fire. Wasn't funny when they came through camp 3 hours later to find out what pack was in their territory. They didn't stick around, but they walked through our campsite close enough to the tents to hear the foot falls and the breathing. That was about 1983. I always carried a pistol after that - yup I konw it was illegal.

On another occassion, two buddies of mine and I had been out midnight Bajaing in his truck - got it stuck - really stuck so we had to leave the truck to find a phone to get help - pre cell phone days 1984ish. We were followed down the trail by a pack that was probably 1/4 mile behind us, if you turned around quick you could see the flash of a set of eyes behind you and when we went back the next morning for the truck, you could see the tracks in the snow/mud following us out to the trail to the county road - this was in the Bear River area North of Chisholm.

We have also had deer dragged off after being shot. in one instance a son of a friend of mine shot the deer from his Dad's stand and got excited -so he left the stand to get his dad from another stand to help him gut and drag it. That probably took half an hour. By the time they got back to the clearing where the deer had been downed, the deer had been dragged back into the woods about 40 feet and partially consumed. Kinda scary thinking the wolves had to be pretty close when that kid went out to confirm the kill. That was also Bear River.

I agree with others who didn't like the gut shot idea, but the idea is with the heavy fines, you don't want one found dead on your property where you have to prove you didn't shoot it. So if it dies on your neighbors property.........? I don't know that is what I heard people talking about.

[DeanC]

I agree with others who didn't like the gut shot idea, but the idea is with the heavy fines, you don't want one found dead on your property where you have to prove you didn't shoot it. So if it dies on your neighbors property.........?

That's how it was explained to me.

[Eric Marleau]

One thing yukon.

A firearm, including a pistol, is LEGAL in the BWCA.
I would never go into the woods without one.
Don't let the Forest Circus BS you. They will pull the bull crap line in saying "We don't advocate" taking a gun into the BW.
I have heard this crap said at the Visitor Center, and corrected the moron on the spot with the unsuspecting tourists.
Most of my hunting has been in the BWCA.
GOSH I HATE THE FOREST SERVICE

Eric

[FJ540]

I'd carry more than one. One on you at all times and another in a couple zip locks in a pack for back-up as well. Spare ammo in zip locks, just like your strike anywhere matches should be a given.

[yukonjasper]

Carrying in the BWCA is legal now, but I don't think that has always been the case. I guess at that age you don't take the time to research what the real deal is.

I know as a kid ('70's to mid 80's), my scout master used to carry a GI issue 1911 when we did our extended trips and I remember he was a little nervous because it was illegal.

I remember grouse hunting up there off of Basswood and doing some overnights in the Nina Moose area - I remember there being some issues also with grouse hunting the portages - I think technically it wasn't allowed - did it anyway, but I remember it being kind of a touchy deal. The contradiction always seemed odd to me.

I have always packed my .357 when I've gone camping in the BWCA, Voyaguers etc.

With the contact I've had with Bear and Wolf over the years and growing up around the stories, its hard to think of going out in the woods un-armed. Probably Ranger paranoia, but better safe than sorry.