- Article by: DOUG SMITH , Star Tribune
- Updated: July 12, 2012
DNR also will allow
the baiting of wolves. As many as 400 total may be taken in two
seasons, but the odds of bagging one are pretty slim.
Only a fraction of the 200,000 deer hunters in the wolf range will get one of the limited number of wolf hunting licenses, and at best they will have just a 5 percent success rate.
By comparison, firearm deer hunters have about a 33 percent success rate.
Still, Department of Natural Resources officials don't expect those slim odds to deter deer hunters from snapping up the 3,600 wolf licenses available in the first of two hunts, which will be distributed in a lottery.
"I'm confident we'll get that,'' said Steve Merchant, DNR wildlife programs manager.
DNR officials released details of the new wolf hunting and trapping season on Thursday. Besides extending the season, hunters will have to register their kills the same day and the state will be broken into three hunting zones.
But a 400-wolf harvest quota is unchanged and will be split evenly in two seasons -- the early one that coincides with deer hunting and a late season starting Nov. 24.
That means the 200,000 deer hunters must divvy up 200 wolves.
The second wolf season, which also allows trapping, begins after the deer season, and 2,400 licenses will be available, including a minimum of 600 for trappers. That season had been set to close Jan. 6, but is now extended to Jan. 31.
"We had a significant number of people who wanted to extend the season, and there was no biological issues for not extending it,'' said Merchant.
A bigger change is that the area where wolves can be hunted is divided into three zones instead of two, each with harvest targets. The DNR will close zones if the quotas are reached.
The northeast and east-central zones parallel the 1854 and 1837 treaty territory boundaries with Chippewa bands, who have off-reservation hunting rights.
"This allows us to work with tribal interests in allocating and managing the wolf harvest,'' Merchant said.
Target harvests are 265 in the northwest zone, 117 in the northeast and 18 in the east-central.
Most bands oppose hunting wolves, and some plan to prohibit hunting them on tribal lands. But if bands decide to harvest some wolves, that could force the DNR to reduce non-band harvest quotas.
"We just need to be prepared,'' said Ed Boggess, DNR fish and wildlife division director.
In another change, hunters now will have to register their wolves by 10 p.m. on the day of harvest; previously, hunters had until the following day to register their kills.
Baiting wolves will be allowed because there is no state law prohibiting it, officials said. But the DNR may seek some restrictions at the Legislature.
Officials said they tweaked the final regulations because of public input.
The DNR took public comments during a monthlong online survey, in which 79 percent of respondents opposed a wolf hunting and trapping season. But officials released details of that survey Thursday, which showed that about 3,000 -- or 42 percent -- of the responses came from people living outside Minnesota.
People from 42 states, the District of Columbia and some foreign counties took the survey, which was open to anyone. The top five states to respond, behind Minnesota, were Illinois (690), Ohio (435), Wisconsin (342), Michigan (311), and Indiana (207).
Also, anti-wolf-hunting groups accounted for about 2,000 responses, including 1,747 that came through howlingforwolves.org, a group that has campaigned against the hunt.
DNR officials said the survey wasn't a scientific poll, nor was it to be used to decide whether to hold a wolf hunt, because the Legislature had already mandated that.
Officials estimate the state's wolf population at about 3,000, and although the wolf hunt has been controversial, wildlife biologists say killing 400 wolves won't harm the population. Wolves tend to fill voids left when other wolves die or are killed.
"We don't expect any change in the population with this level of harvest pressure,'' said Dan Stark, DNR large carnivore specialist.
source
Additional information about wolf management and the upcoming season is available online at www.mndnr.gov/wolves.
Details of the season
Consistent with state law, the state’s first regulated wolf season will start with the beginning of firearms deer hunting on Saturday, Nov. 3.
The season will be 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.
A total of 6,000 licenses will be offered, with 3,600 available in the early season and 2,400 in the late season. Late season licenses will be further split between hunting and trapping, with a minimum of 600 reserved for trappers. The target harvest will be 400 wolves for both seasons combined, and will initially be allocated equally between the early and the late seasons.
The early hunting only season will be open only in the northern portions of Minnesota where rifles are allowed for deer hunting. It will start on Saturday, Nov. 3, the opening day of firearms deer hunting. It will close either at the end of the respective firearms seasons in the two northern deer zones (Nov. 18 in Series 100 deer permit areas or Nov. 11 in Series 200 deer permit areas), or when a registered target harvest by zone is reached.
The late hunting and trapping season will begin Saturday, Nov. 24. It will close Jan. 31, 2013, or when a registered total target harvest by zone or total harvest of 400 in both seasons combined is reached, whichever comes sooner. The late season will be open only where rifles are allowed for deer hunting. The use of bait and electronic calls will be allowed.
Wolf hunting licenses will be $30 for residents and $250 for nonresidents. Nonresidents will be limited to 5 percent of total hunting licenses. Wolf trapping licenses will be $30 (limited to residents only). A lottery will be held to select license recipients. Proof of a current or previous hunting license will be required to apply for a wolf license. The application fee will be $4. A wolf season regulation booklet is being developed.
Season structure
- The early wolf hunting season (legal firearms or archery) will be concurrent with the deer season and open only in that portion of the state where rifles can be used to hunt deer.
- The early season dates are 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.
- The late hunting and trapping season will open Nov. 24 statewide. It will close Jan. 31 or when the total target harvest by wolf zone is reached, whichever is sooner.
- 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 bag limit is one wolf per licensee.
- A person cannot purchase both a wolf hunting and a wolf trapping license. 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.
- 3,600 licenses will be available for the early season and are only valid for the early season.
- 2,400 licenses will be available for the late season (at least 600 trapping) and are only valid for the late season.
- The number of hunting licenses offered to nonresidents will be capped at 5 percent for both the early and late seasons.
- Licenses must be purchased prior to the opening day of the respective seasons.
- Application materials will be available online in mid-August with a $4 application fee.
- 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.
- The application deadline will be Sept. 6; online winner notification will be no later than Oct. 14.
- Licenses will be available for purchase no later than Oct. 15.
- Groups of up to four individuals many apply as a single group and may assist another licensed wolf hunter, but may not shoot or tag for each other.
- Applicants can apply for only one of three license types: early wolf hunting, late wolf hunting, or late wolf trapping.
- 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.
- 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 toll-free phone number and DNR web site indicating whether the season is open or closed in each wolf zone.
No comments:
Post a Comment