MINNEAPOLIS _ Minnesotans could be hunting wolves again as early as the fall of 2020, but nothing is assured as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) embarks on another quest to remove the species from the nation's endangered species list.
The federal agency will be sued by environmental groups hoping to derail the effort, but the Trump administration is waiting any day now for the Federal Register to publish its official proposal to delist gray wolves throughout the lower 48 states.
Months and months of public input and agency analysis would follow, but it's conceivable a final rule and delisting could happen inside of 12 months. The last time gray wolves were delisted in Minnesota was January 2012. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) quickly staged a lottery for license applications. By Nov. 3 of that year, 23,000 hunters and trappers set out to harvest 413 wolves.
"What this means for the practicality of a (wolf) season in Minnesota is still unknown," said Craig Engwall, executive director of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association. "But it's great. It's really good news."
Besides the threat of lawsuits, the FWS could possibly withdraw its proposal. But the agency has succeeded previously in delisting gray wolves in the northern Rockies and in the western Great Lakes region. This latest proposal is different in that it would cut across the Lower 48.
Wolves currently are hunted in the northern Rockies, but wolf hunting in Minnesota ended after the 2014 season when federal courts overturned the regional delisting. A subsequent court ruling upheld the endangered and threatened species protection.
Engwall said Minnesota hunters aren't out to get rid of wolves. But many deer hunters believe strongly that gray wolves in northern Minnesota should be managed as predators by state wildlife officials. The state's wolf harvest was limited to 238 animals in 2013 and 272 in 2014.
"Deer hunters think it's really legitimate to reduce the numbers (of wolves) in accordance with plans," Engwall said.
