Half of wolf hunt permits still available

Wolf in woods
A wolf walks in the woods near the Echo Trail about 20 miles northwest of Ely, Minn.
Steve Foss for MPR

Minnesota hunters have already applied for about half of the permits that are available in the state's first wolf hunt in decades.

About 3,000 people have already applied to take part in the fall and winter wolf hunts, said DNR Wildlife Research Manager Lou Cornicelli.

Cornicelli expects more applications to come in as the Sept. 6 deadline approaches.

"What we always see is it's just like registering your car. Nobody does that at the first of the month. We all do that at the end of the month," Cornicelli said. "We'll have a big increase in deer license sales and likely in wolf applications as well. That's just human nature and we see it every year."

This will be the state's first wolf hunting season in decades. The species was recently removed from the endangered species list by the federal government.

The DNR plans to sell 6,000 wolf-hunting permits, although the state will limit the amount of wolves killed to 400.

The DNR maintains a page on their website about the wolf hunt.

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