Minnesota Wolf Hunt Progress - Page 2

Gbro · January 1, 2013, 11:46 PM

I was told by my daughter about 2PM today(1-1-13) that the wolf season closed.
A quick call into the information phone number also told that the season is now closed. I posted last night that there were 22 wolves left for season quota and again this morning I checked and the numbers remained the same.
I then checked the web site and the information there is the NW season is OPEN and the count is listed as PENDING!
We have a situation here now, those that call in hear a closed message and it's conflicting on the web!
Why am I not surprised???

EDIT: 01/02/2013 1600hrs
The web site is listing the season

Quote:

Closes end of shooting/trapping hours Jan. 3 181* 187

So there are 6 remaining to quota and the day's registrations are not complete for another 5.5 hr.
BUT, the phone call-in that is a requirement is still stating the season is closed.

Well, I think the quota will fill and I made a call to the trapper that got MY hunting tag and told him to "GET WITH IT"! ! !

Gbro · January 3, 2013, 11:54 PM

This is what the Regional Manager had to say about the confusion the last 3 day of the season,
From;

Quote:

Communication with hunters and trappers in the late season was compromised Tuesday and early Wednesday by a computer malfunction. The hot line that hunters and trappers were required to call before going afield said the season had closed in the Northwest Zone, when actually it had not. DNR officials suspect the erroneous recording was prompted by the change to the new year, said Jeff Lightfoot, DNR regional wildlife manager in Grand Rapids.

And there is a couple comments on the season from the opponents.

Quote:

Critics call hunt premature

Collette Adkins Giese, a biologist and attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, said watching the state’s wolf season was troubling.

“I’ve been haunted by the knowledge that wolves suffered and died because we were unable to stop the hunt,” Adkins Giese said in a telephone interview Wednesday.

“And I’ve been troubled by the DNR’s operation of the wolf season,” she said. “They exceeded the quota in the Northeast in the early season, and this week where there was the technical problem with the website …

As much as i am troubled with the last 3 day's events,on a whole this season went very good, and to control the season on a day by day basis the DNR did a good job.
For Ms. Giese to whine about a couple animals taken over the quota when thousands of Hunters and trappers are involved is again an indicator of their irrational obsession against any form of animal control, IMHO
So my statement to those people is, they should be thankful to the hunters and trappers for making our forest a safer place to recreate, because i truly believe that without this control wolves would loose their fear of MAN and that would be dangerous!

doofus47 · January 4, 2013, 12:34 AM

Not to get off into the weeds, but what sorts of calibers are you MNsotans using for wolfs?

jason_iowa · January 4, 2013, 02:06 AM

Ya need to come to Iowa and shoot coyotes. We are overrun and some of em are BIG!

Gbro · January 4, 2013, 04:50 PM

doofus47

Quote:

Not to get off into the weeds, but what sorts of calibers are you MNsotans using

The regulation are the same as deer, and that is .222 center fire and up.
I didn't draw a tag but had plans on my .54 cal Flinter during muzzle deer season then .257 Roberts.
ETA; 1622hrs
4 more were added to the North West tally today. That brings the total up to 197 10 over the target. That should get some squaking.

buck460XVR · January 5, 2013, 03:35 PM

I see the legal wolf hunts as being like the first Native American spearing seasons decades ago here in the upper Mid-West. Talk about depleted resources, wanton waste, extreme suffering because of non-traditional harvest methods and over quota harvests. But like the spearing seasons, appreciation and understanding of the local ecosystem and those animals within it by law abiding sportsman will allow the species to continue and allow opportunities for others to enjoy them. Things will quiet down once folks with nuttin' else to do find another cause.

Art Eatman · January 6, 2013, 10:19 AM

Opinion: I see the whole deal as two things: Species survival and carrying capacity of the habitat.

There should not be so many herbivores that the habitat is over-grazed or over-browsed. There should not be so many predators that herbivore populations are in decline.

As long as herbivores are not over-grazing/browsing in average years, there aren't "too many" and the habitat is okay. As long as their populations are stable, there is no over-abundance of predators.

(I realize that there is a normal rise and fall in the numbers of both groups, but that's a separate discussion.)

As I see it, people without some amount of technical knowledge of those factors have nothing worthwhile to contribute to the discussions. "I don't like..." is irrelevant.

I'm obviously omitting discussion of issues concerning domesticated livestock, but "Ya gotta start with the fundamentals."

Double Naught Spy · January 6, 2013, 06:05 PM

Quote:

"Ya gotta start with the fundamentals."

I look at it this way. There are individual ethics and there are laws that apply to all. Sounds like the DNR is attempting to do a reasonable job of both allowing the population to expand without fully expanding in an uncontrolled or unmitigated manner. They are both working to help the population and at the same time help allow people to feel like the population isn't being thrust upon them as fearsome killing machines.

If you don't want to hunt them, that is your call. I certainly don't, would not recreationally, but limited predation on the population is part of the process of re-establishing in some areas and allowing to be maintained or grow in others.

For lack of a better comparison, think of it as a controlled burn that is used to help keep a forest or prairie healthy.

RB98SS · January 9, 2013, 10:48 PM

All in all this year the number of wolves legally taken in Minnesota is just under 700 according to a regional newspaper article I read. I don't have exact numbers but the legal hunt/trap season harvest was around 400. Along with this there were around 270 destroyed by professional hunter/trappers because of livestock loss. I believe 16 were killed by persons defending property, pets etc.

If you look at this number you might think that's a lot of wolves that have been removed from the state but I'm still getting just as many pictures of canis lupus on my trail camera after the hunt closed. I think our population is healthy.

January 4, 2013, 12:34 AM	#28
doofus47 Senior Member Join Date: June 9, 2010 Location: live in a in a house when i'm not in a tent Posts: 2,483	Not to get off into the weeds, but what sorts of calibers are you MNsotans using for wolfs? __________________ I'm right about the metric system 3/4 of the time.

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January 4, 2013, 02:06 AM	#29
jason_iowa Senior Member Join Date: July 30, 2011 Posts: 686	Ya need to come to Iowa and shoot coyotes. We are overrun and some of em are BIG!

January 5, 2013, 03:35 PM	#31
buck460XVR Senior Member Join Date: December 28, 2006 Posts: 4,342	I see the legal wolf hunts as being like the first Native American spearing seasons decades ago here in the upper Mid-West. Talk about depleted resources, wanton waste, extreme suffering because of non-traditional harvest methods and over quota harvests. But like the spearing seasons, appreciation and understanding of the local ecosystem and those animals within it by law abiding sportsman will allow the species to continue and allow opportunities for others to enjoy them. Things will quiet down once folks with nuttin' else to do find another cause.

January 6, 2013, 10:19 AM	#32
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	Opinion: I see the whole deal as two things: Species survival and carrying capacity of the habitat. There should not be so many herbivores that the habitat is over-grazed or over-browsed. There should not be so many predators that herbivore populations are in decline. As long as herbivores are not over-grazing/browsing in average years, there aren't "too many" and the habitat is okay. As long as their populations are stable, there is no over-abundance of predators. (I realize that there is a normal rise and fall in the numbers of both groups, but that's a separate discussion.) As I see it, people without some amount of technical knowledge of those factors have nothing worthwhile to contribute to the discussions. "I don't like..." is irrelevant. I'm obviously omitting discussion of issues concerning domesticated livestock, but "Ya gotta start with the fundamentals."

January 9, 2013, 10:48 PM	#34
RB98SS Senior Member Join Date: February 16, 2007 Location: Shoreview, MN Posts: 104	All in all this year the number of wolves legally taken in Minnesota is just under 700 according to a regional newspaper article I read. I don't have exact numbers but the legal hunt/trap season harvest was around 400. Along with this there were around 270 destroyed by professional hunter/trappers because of livestock loss. I believe 16 were killed by persons defending property, pets etc. If you look at this number you might think that's a lot of wolves that have been removed from the state but I'm still getting just as many pictures of canis lupus on my trail camera after the hunt closed. I think our population is healthy.