What
happened to the five-year waiting period before a wolf hunting and trapping
season could be implemented?
Through the development of a wolf plan in the late 1990s
through 2001, Minnesota had initially had a five-year waiting period following
wolf delisting prior to any wolf season development. It was expected that wolf
delisting would occur earlier in the last decade and would allow for continued
monitoring of population trends prior to implementing a wolf season. Wolves
were first delisted in 2007 and the state managed the wolf population for 20
months during two delisting periods. With delisting delayed, legal status
affected by lawsuits and a stable yet robust wolf population, the Minnesota
Legislature removed the five-year waiting period for developing a wolf season
through legislation in 2011.
2012 Wolf Harvest Season Details
Consistent
with state law, the state's first regulated wolf season began with the beginning of firearms deer hunting on Saturday, Nov. 3.
The
season is split into two parts: an early wolf hunting season coinciding
with firearms deer hunting; and a late wolf hunting and trapping season after
the firearms deer season for those with a specific interest in wolf hunting and
trapping.
The
target harvest is 400 wolves for both seasons combined and is allocated between the early and the late seasons
Licensed
wolf hunters will be responsible for checking each day to assure that the
season is still open
Landowners
and tribal authorities may close land under their control to wolf harvest
at their discretion
The
use of bait and electronic calls is allowed
The
bag limit is one wolf per licensee
Early Season - Hunting Only
Legal firearms or archery only. Concurrent
with the deer season and open only in that portion of the state where
rifles can be used to hunt deer
Nov. 3-18 in 100 Series deer permit areas
(northeastern and east-central Minnesota) and Nov. 3-11 in the rifle zone
portion of 200 Series deer permit areas (central and northwestern
Minnesota). The early season will close before those dates if the target
harvest by wolf zone is reached sooner
No
trapping will be allowed in the early season
Late Season - Hunting and Trapping
Nov. 24, 2012 - Jan. 31, 2013 statewide or when the total target harvest by wolf zone is reached,
whichever is sooner
Licensing
A
total of 6,000 licenses were offered, with 3,600 available in the early
season and 2,400 in the late season. Late season licenses were further split
between hunting and trapping.
Applicants
can apply for only one of three license types: early wolf hunting; late
wolf hunting; or late wolf trapping
A
person with a hunting license may take a wolf only by firearms or archery;
a person with a trapping license may take a wolf only by trap or snare
The
number of hunting licenses offered to nonresidents will be capped at five
percent for both the early and late seasons
Licenses
must be purchased prior to the opening day of the respective seasons
Application process
Recipients are selected by a lottery system
A
person must have proof of a current or previous hunting license to apply
Trappers
born after Dec. 31, 1989, need a trapper education certificate or proof of
a previous trapping license to purchase a wolf trapping license
Fees
$4 application
fee to enter the lottery
$30 resident hunting license
$250 nonresident hunting license
$30 trapping license (limited to residents only)
Registration of Carcass
All
animals must be registered by 10 p.m. of the day of harvest (can be done
electronically at ELS agent, online or by phone)
Harvest
registration information/reporting will be available online and via a
toll-free phone number
Harvest
registration must identify the zone in which the wolf was taken
Carcasses
must be presented for collection of biological data
Season Closure and Notification
The
season for each wolf zone will close at the end of legal shooting hours on
the day for which hunters and trappers are notified that the closure will
occur
Notification
will be available via a 1-800- number and DNR website indicating whether
the season is open or closed in each wolf zone
Links related to the process of establishing a wolf harvest:
