A plan to allow the first wolf hunt in more than 40 years in Minnesota was unveiled Wednesday by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.It will allow up to 6,000 Minnesotans the chance to hunt and trap wolves later this year.
A quota of 400 wolves has been set under the Minnesota DNR proposal.
The wolf season is slated to be held in late November after the regular firearms deer season has concluded and when wolf pelts are prime.
Successful lottery entries will have to apply for the license which would cost $50.
The use of firearms, archery equipment and muzzleloaders are allowed under the proposed wolf hunt. Calls and bait are also permitted but with restrictions, while dogs would not be allowed.
The planned wolf hunt was announced after Minnesota’s gray wolves was removed from the federal government’s threatened species list and returned to state management. Wolves in Wisconsin and Michigan were also officially removed from federal Endangered Species Act protections.
As a result, the DNR will again manage the state’s wolf population by state statute, rule and provisions of a wolf management plan.
It was slated to submit the proposed wolf hunt Thursday to state lawmakers in the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee and the House Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee.
Last month, the federal government handed the wolf management in the Great Lakes region back to state and tribal wildlife agencies. It is slated to take effect Friday.
Meanwhile, wolves will still be protected in most areas in Minnesota even after Friday.
Hunters can go after wolves in northeastern areas starting Friday, if the animal is about to harm livestock and pets.
Property owners in the southern two-thirds of the State, on the other hand, can shoot the animal at any time on their own land.
As for state-certified trappers, they can begin to trap the animal near where livestock and pets have been killed starting Friday.
The gray wolves population in Minnesota is estimated at around 3,000, the largest population in the lower 48 states. It is roughly twice the number required in the federal government’s wolf recovery plan.