The Minnesota Deer Hunters Association along with 12 other organizations and individuals have sent two letters to members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation urging them to support resolution of what they see as two distinct wolf issues in the state.
Mark Johnson, executive director of MDHA, sent the letters Wednesday and thanked the signers for their willingness to “be co-agitants toward resolutions” of the two issues.
Johnson urged the signers to contact members of the delegation if they do not hear from them regarding the letters and to ask what their intended actions on the issues will be.
“I am convinced that without persistent nudging by us that these two issues will not see satisfactory resolution any time soon,” Johnson said in an email to the signers.
Each of the letters seeks short-term and long-term actions. One of the letters seeks action to ensure that the timber wolf in Minnesota and the Great Lakes Region will be removed from the Endangered Species Act list this year. The long-term action requested seeks the congressional delegation to delist the wolf via congressional action if the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service does not delist the wolf on its own this year.
The other letter urges action to ensure that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services division is adequately funded in the short- and long terms to effectively respond to wolf complaints within Minnesota.
The letter on delisting notes that the wolf was originally added to the ESA in 1974. Since that time, the letter says, the wolf population in Minnesota has increased from a few hundred to about 3,000 today and notes that they are expanding their range.
“Timber wolves have met or exceeded every benchmark of ‘recovery’ including the federal recovery population goal of 1,251-1,400 wolves in MN by the year 2000,” the letter says. “Biologically, and according to ESA objectives and goals, timber wolves in MN and the Great Lakes Region have fully recovered and deserve to be delisted under the ESA.”
In addition, the letter seeking depredation money said that the USDA has spent $300,000-$600,000 annually for trapping programs within Minnesota. Of those amounts, federal program funding has ranged from $100,000-$300,000 and special congressional earmarks have ranged $200,000-$300,000.
“Recently, the congressional earmarked monies ($727,000 for Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan) were eliminated in the continuing resolution leaving a budget gap,” says the letter. “It’s uncertain if USDA plans to backfill those dollars, leading to mixed signals being sent on whether or not Wildlife Services personnel will be able to respond to wolf complaints.”
In addition to the MDHA, the letters were also signed by representatives of the Minnesota State Cattlemen's Association, Minnesota Outdoor Heritage Alliance, Minnesota Farmers Union, Wildlife Science Center, Minnesota Safari Club International, Big Game Forever, North American Bear Foundation, Land of Lakes Bowfishing Association, Minnesota Trail Hound Association, Minnesota Trappers Association, Minnesota Conservation Federation, and Catherine McLynn, Itasca County commissioner.
