The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) plans to update the state’s wolf management plan and wants to know what you think about it.
“It’s critical to have all voices about wolves at the table,” said Dan Stark, the DNR’s wolf management specialist. “With the public’s input, we can effectively evaluate how the wolf management plan is working and identify what may need to be improved.”
As part of the process, the DNR plans to create a new wolf plan advisory committee to help inform the update to the management plan. Applications are now open for the committee, which is one of several ways the DNR will engage with the public on the plan.
As of January 2018, there were more than 2,600 wolves in Minnesota, which is more than one and a half times larger than the current state plan that calls for 1,600.
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation maintains state agencies should manage wolves just as they manage all other wildlife species. The state, however, cannot legally do so because in 2014 a federal judge placed the population under federal protection after overturning a designation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife that the species was recovered.
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