Last chance for Minnesota wolf hunters

Wolf on trail camera
Bryan Heiney of Duluth captured this image of a wolf on a motion-activated trail camera he has set up in the area where he hunts in southern Koochiching County.
Photo courtesy Bryan Heiney

It's the last day to register for this year's wolf hunting season lottery - and the competition is stiff.

The wolf licenses were popular for the state's first wolf hunting and trapping season last year -- more than 23,000 people applied for just 6,000 permits.

This year the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is making just 3,300 wolf licenses available. Two thousand of those permits will be issued for the early season, which begins at the same time as the firearms deer hunting season.

The DNR reduced the number of licenses after a population survey showed a 25 percent decline in the number of gray wolves in Minnesota.

"We really wanted to make sure we stayed under overall human-caused mortality of 28 percent of the population," said Steve Merchant of the DNR.

The wolf hunt will start on November 9th, the first day of firearms deer season.

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