Wolf population in Minnesota holding steady, DNR says

[h2ofwlr]

August 10, 2015 By Melanie Sommer, BMTN
For links and graphics: http://bringmethenews.com/2015/08/10/wo ... -dnr-says/

The number of wolves living in the woods of Minnesota has been holding steady over the past three years.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources released its latest wolf population survey Monday, which estimates there were 2,221 wolves in the state this past winter, comprising 374 wolf packs.

That’s about 200 fewer animals than the previous year, but the DNR said it’s not a “statistically significant” difference.

It’s also higher than the DNR’s minimum population goal of 1,600 wolves, the agency said.

The DNR says it does its wolf survey every year in the middle of winter, during the low point of the animals’ population cycle.

The wolf numbers typically double after pups are born in the spring, although many of the pups don’t survive until the following winter, said Dan Stark, large carnivore specialist for the DNR.
Map showing the range of wolves in Minnesota.

The map shows the expansion of the wolf range over time. (Minnesota DNR)

Gray wolves have been at the center of controversy for several years. The animals were protected under the federal Endangered Species Act for decades because their numbers were dwindling.

That protection was lifted in 2012 in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, and the states then created wolf hunting seasons which were criticized by animal rights groups.

A federal court ruling in December put the wolves back on the endangered species list in the three states, which put an end to the wolf hunting season.

The Humane Society of the United States, one of the groups that brought the lawsuit, argued that allowing wolves to be hunted was putting a stop to their recovery in the Great Lakes states.

The group said 1,500 wolves have been killed by hunters and trappers in the three states since 2012.

During Minnesota’s 2014 season, hunters and trappers took 272 wolves, and another 243 died through other means, according to the DNR.

The DNR said its goal for wolf management is to ensure the long-term survival of wolves in Minnesota while addressing conflicts between wolves and humans.

The DNR website has more information about the latest survey and about wolf management in Minnesota.

[Fish Felon]

Start with this,

That protection was lifted in 2012 in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, and the states then created wolf hunting seasons which were criticized by animal rights groups.

And then replace animal rights with special interest,

That protection was lifted in 2012 in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, and the states then created wolf hunting seasons which were criticized by special interest groups.

And then consider that the MWA and the Concerned Duck Hunters are also special interest groups and replace wolf with teal,

That protection was lifted in 2014 in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan, and the states then created teal hunting seasons. In Minnesota special interest groups successfully lobbied to prevent a season from being opened.

It's interesting that within a little over a year the USFWS gave MN the authority to implement not just one but two hunting seasons they hadn't been able to hold for decades.

Wouldn't it be funny if on one the DNR barged ahead and then successfully argued in court they didn't need public input to open a hunt because they set seasons based on current and future population sustainability goals from a science based management approach, and that public input is not scientific....

....and then refused to open a season on the other one while admitting they didn't have any reasons from a population and science based management standpoint and used public input in the form of a very non-scientific survey as the only justification for not allowing a hunt?


That wouldn't just be funny that'd be a potentially huge legal quandry for them if anyone ever noticed the glaring legal discrepancy they set for themselves! All one would have to do is file a lawsuit against the DNR in the MN court of appeals and get Landwehr and his cronies on the stand and hold them to their own line of testimony from the 2013 case and they're absolutely dead in the water.

On top of that Howling for Wolves would most likely sue their azzes for discrimination and be awarded millions.

Thank god for the DNR's sake no one has done this or tipped off HFW!