Wolf Bill Passes, Temp Suspension of Hunt

Per Howling for Wolves:

Senate File 2256, passed out of the Minnesota Senate Environment and Energy Committee with a majority of senators voting in favor of our position. This legislation addresses our common-sense interests with Minnesota’s wolf population and hunt. It directs the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to gather better information that is needed to understand our wolves with sound, scientific methods.About the legislation
This bill temporarily suspends Minnesota’s wolf hunt to implement the DNR’s Wolf Management Plan. It directs the DNR to formally study outcomes of the wolf hunt on the wolf population, including information on known wolf deaths and illnesses, and includes mapping of wolf-livestock conflicts combined with the establishment and dissemination of best practices for the agriculture community to reduce wolf-livestock conflicts via non-lethal methods. The bill also addresses tribal concerns, and while this piece of the bill continues to be refined, it currently allows tribes to opt-out of wolf hunting on their lands. Additionally, the bill calls for a study on public sentiment towards wolves, and calls for regular assessment of the public’s knowledge and attitudes toward wolves. Lastly, the bill includes an annual census to ensure the population does not fall below 1,600, the legal number defining the population as a threatened species.

photo by Don Gossett, International Wolf Center (http://www.wolf.org)

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