Comment period for updated wolf plan ends Aug. 8

The comment period for Minnesota’s updated wolf plan is open until Aug. 8.

The draft plan is available online for review.

Before being listed on the Endangered Species Act of 1973, species of wolves in Minnesota declined greatly in population due to widespread, state and federal-sponsored killings, as well as loss of habitat and low deer populations.

Wolves have since rebounded in the northern part of the state, and a wolf management plan was created in 2001.

This plan included a five-year waiting period to establish a regulated hunting and trapping season, which was authorized from 2012 to 2014 after the legislature classified the wolf as small game.

The updated plan sets out a framework for future decisions about whether to hold a wolf hunting or trapping season, should the wolf be removed from the federal threatened species list in Minnesota.

More information is available on the DNR’s website.