Looks like no more wolf hunting

[ex-LT]

To be fair, when they were added to the endangered species list, the timber wolf population in MN was less than 400. They weren't on the verge of extinction, but I'd say that's close enough to call it "near-extinction". If protections hadn't been put into place 40 years ago, it's quite likely that the eastern gray wolf would be extinct in the lower 48. The most recent estimates put the MN wolf population over 3000 wolves - quite a success story, and definitely more than enough to be considered a "sustainable population."

And they would not have migrated from Canada back into Minnesota like the illegals have been doing into Arizona from Mexico?

It's possible that they would have, but if you look at the population maps you'll see that they haven't migrated to North Dakota, so it's not beyond the realm of imagination to say they wouldn't have migrated down from Canada, either.

[smurfman]

To take that argument to it's logical end: Albacore Tuna is non-existent in MN, thus it must be endangered and can no longer be fished. Say goodbye to your tuna salad sandwiches.

Would not mind, tuna just doesn't taste like it use to!

You're not kidding!! Since the move to "dolphin friendly" methods, tuna just hasn't tasted the same.

[smurfman]

To be fair, when they were added to the endangered species list, the timber wolf population in MN was less than 400. They weren't on the verge of extinction, but I'd say that's close enough to call it "near-extinction". If protections hadn't been put into place 40 years ago, it's quite likely that the eastern gray wolf would be extinct in the lower 48. The most recent estimates put the MN wolf population over 3000 wolves - quite a success story, and definitely more than enough to be considered a "sustainable population."

And they would not have migrated from Canada back into Minnesota like the illegals have been doing into Arizona from Mexico?

It's possible that they would have, but if you look at the population maps you'll see that they haven't migrated to North Dakota, so it's not beyond the realm of imagination to say they wouldn't have migrated down from Canada, either.

The wolf population had been pretty steady in the 700 range through the 50's and 60's on into the early 70's when they were listed as endangered. Those numbers remained steady due to the wolf "heatsink" called Ontario.

North Dakota did not see such an influx of wolves as the provinces above did not have nearly the populations of wolves that occurred on the MN/Ontario border. A quick glance at a map would show the MN/Ontario border was (and is) largely unpopulated forest while the ND/Manitoba/Saskatchewan border was much less forested and was farming/ranch land in which the persecution of wolves was much easier, widespread, and persistent. Even with aerial gunning, wolves in forested areas were able to hang on at the vary least.

Wolves were maintaining their numbers in MN back in the early 70's. They just weren't able to increase their numbers nor expand their range easily. The easiest to find source for this info is David Mech's book "The Wolf". It is a good read.