“Minnesota Senate committee passes bill to suspend wolf hunt”

March 13, 2013

Update: Apparently, just as I was posting this article the Duluth News Tribune launched their new website and the URL for the article is not working. The paper stated it would be up in the next couple of hours with a new URL, so when that happens I’ll repost the link. Sorry for any inconvenience……Nabeki

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Finally some common sense for Minnesota wolves. Thanks to bill authors “Senate Environment and Energy Chairman John Marty, DFL-Roseville; Sen. Foung Hawj, DFL-St. Paul; and Sen. Chris Eaton, DFL-Brooklyn Center”. And to Howling for Wolves for their tireless work on behalf of Minnesota wolves!

A bill that would suspend Minnesota’s wolf hunt was passed by a Senate committee this afternoon.

By: Sam Cook, Duluth News Tribune

March 13, 2014

A bill that would suspend Minnesota’s wolf hunt was passed by a Senate committee this afternoon.

The bill, passed by the Senate Environment and Energy Committee, would put the hunt on hold “to study outcomes of the wolf hunt on the wolf population and to implement the wolf management plan,” according to its wording.

Minnesota has held its first managed gray wolf hunting and trapping seasons the past two years after the wolf was removed from the federal Endangered Species List. Some groups and individuals have protested the hunt and filed lawsuits trying to prevent it. None of those suits was successful.

The “Wolf Data Bill,” as it’s titled, also calls for an annual wolf population census and creation of an advisory wolf task force appointed by the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. It would also close tribal lands to the hunting and trapping of wolves if tribal leadership requests it.

A companion bill in the House has not been acted upon yet.

READ MORE: http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/293688/

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Senate committee votes to suspend wolf hunt

Posted on March 11, 2014

by Don Davis

See more at: http://capitolchat.areavoices.com/2014/03/11/senate-committee-votes-to-suspend-wolf-hunt/#sthash.dTQhWCOf.dpuf

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Photo: USFWS

Posted in: Wolf Wars, Minnesota gray wolves

Tags: stop the wolf hunt, Minnesota, The Wolf Data Bill, Minnesota wolves, Howling for Wolves, Senate Environment and Energy Chairman John Marty, DFL-Roseville; Sen. Foung Hawj, DFL-St. Paul, Sen. Chris Eaton, DFL-Brooklyn Center

Reinstating Minnesota’s Five Year Moratorium On Wolf Hunts Passes First Test…..

Minnesota Wolves…Photo Derek Montgomery

Finally a victory! Today a big first step was taken to protect Minnesota’s wolves from hunts,  that were thrust upon them when the USFWS delisted wolves in the Great Lakes.

“A Minnesota Senate committee approved a bill Thursday that would put a five-year moratorium on wolf hunting in Minnesota.

The Senate Environment and Energy Committee approved the measure on a seven to six vote. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Chris Eaton, DFL-Brooklyn Center, said she thinks it’s irresponsible to hunt wolves so quickly after the animal was removed from the endangered species list”….mpr news

Minnesota’s wolf plan previously included a five-year moratorium on wolf hunts if canis lupus was ever federally delisted.  BUT the Minnesota legislature removed that safeguard in 2011,  several months before the USFWS stripped Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota wolves from the Endangered Species List.

  Soon after,  just as their fellow wolf states had done before them,  Minnesota rushed to hold a wolf  hunt in 2012, pushed by powerful hunting and ranching interests.   But wolf advocates are fighters and the battle is far from over.

This is the beginning of a push back in Minnesota, led by Howling For Wolves founder Dr. Maureen Hackett, who has been tireless in her fight to protect Minnesota’s wolves.

There is no reason to hold organized wolf hunts, hundreds of wolves are already killed each year by Wildlife Services for agribusiness.  Wolf hunts are purely a money-maker for the states and serve no purpose other than to give trophy hunters another target to shoot at.

A big thank you to Howling for Wolves and  bill sponsor Senator Chris Eaton for getting the ball rolling to end the unnecessary and brutal wolf hunts in Minnesota.

Now let’s get busy extending protections for the rest of the beleaguered wolf populations!

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Minn. Senate panel approves 5-year wolf hunt moratorium

by Tom Scheck, Minnesota Public Radio

March 14, 2013

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2013/03/14/politics/senate-committee-approves-wolf-hunt-bill?refid=0

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Photo: Courtesy Derek Montgomery

Posted in: Wolf Wars, Minnesota Wolves,

Tags: Senator Chris Eaton, Howling for Wolves, Maureen Hackett, restore five-year moratorium, stop the wolf hunts, wolves of Minnesota

Center For Biological Diversity Goes To Court Over Minnesota Wolf Hunt…

For Immediate Release, September 18, 2012

Lawsuit Filed Challenging Hunting and Trapping of Minnesota Wolves

State Reneges on Promise of No Hunting for Five Years

MINNEAPOLIS— The Center for Biological Diversity and Howling for Wolves filed a lawsuit today against the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources challenging the agency’s failure to provide a formal opportunity for public comment on recently approved rules establishing wolf hunting and trapping. The conservation groups are seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent the opening of hunting and trapping seasons this fall.

“The state rushed to issue wolf hunting and trapping rules without giving people a real chance to voice their opinions,” said Collette Adkins Giese, a Minneapolis-based attorney with the Center. “Especially considering the tremendous controversy around hunting and trapping of Minnesota’s wolves, state officials should have followed the law carefully to make sure they fully understood how the public felt about their decision.”

Minnesota’s 2001 wolf-management plan provided that wolves would not be hunted or trapped for five years after any removal of their Endangered Species Act protection, but the state legislature eliminated those safeguards last year by passing a budget bill that included a rider authorizing the Department of Natural Resources to open wolf hunting if the agency first provided an opportunity for public comment. In January 2012, the wolves’ federal protection was stripped away; but instead of opening a formal comment period, the department offered only an online survey. (More than 75 percent of respondents opposed the wolf hunt: Of 7,351 responses, only 1,542 people supported a wolf season.)

“Wolves already die at high rates from many causes, including human intolerance and persecution,” said Maureen Hackett, founder and president of Howling for Wolves. “Minnesotans benefit economically, culturally and ecologically by having wolves in the wild. As a state, we have so much to gain by keeping wolves undisturbed.”

Wolf hunting is scheduled to begin Nov. 3 with the opening of the deer firearms season; the state’s rules provide that 6,000 licenses will be sold to kill 400 wolves. The lawsuit filed today asks the Minnesota Court of Appeals to prevent implementation of wolf hunting and trapping rules until the court can issue its decision in the case.

Background
Livestock producers have pushed for hunting and trapping to reduce the state’s population of approximately 3,000 wolves. But hunting and trapping may actually increase conflicts between wolves and domestic animals by disrupting pack dynamics and creating more lone wolves that are more likely to target livestock out of desperation.

There are tested, nonlethal options to safeguard livestock from wolves, including guard dogs, flagging and fencing. Hunting and trapping is premature until state managers can gauge the impacts of a state management plan that allows the killing of wolves to protect domestic animals.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 375,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

Howling for Wolves was created to be a voice for wild wolves. It aims to educate the public about Minnesota’s wolf population and let people know how they can take action to keep wild wolves in a self-sustaining existence. For more information: www.howlingforwolves.org.

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2012/wolves-09-18-2012.html

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Challenge to DNR over wolf seasons raises serious issues of policymaking

By Ron Meador | 10:45 am

http://www.minnpost.com/earth-journal/2012/09/challenge-dnr-over-wolf-seasons-raises-serious-issues-policymaking

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Photo: Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Posted in: Wolf Wars, Minnesota gray wolves

Tags: Minnesota DNR,  5 year moratorium, Center for Biological Diversity, Howling For Wolves, stop killing wolves