The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) released its updated wolf management plan that will guide actions for the next decade.
The plan calls for a minimum population level of 1,600 wolves. The current population is estimated at about 2,700. In the DNR’s 2019 attitude survey, livestock producers and deer hunters preferred fewer wolves, while Minnesota residents, as a whole, preferred more or the same number of wolves.
Updated since 2001, six goals in the plan are designed to support Minnesota’s vision for wolves. The goals are to maintain a well-connected and resilient wolf population, collaborate with diverse partners to collectively support wolf plan implementation, minimize and address human-wolf conflicts, inform and engage the public about wolves in Minnesota, conduct research to inform wolf management and administer the wolf program to fulfill agency responsibilities and the needs of the public and partners.
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation maintains that state agencies, like the DNR, should manage wolves just as they manage mountain lions, bears, elk, deer and other wildlife.
Go here to view the plan.
(Photo credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)