Managing Minnesota's recovered wolves

Authors

L. David Mech, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research CenterFollow

Date of this Version

2001

Citation

Wildlife Society Bulletin 2001, 29(1):70-77

Comments

This document is a U.S. government work and is not subject to copyright in the United States.

Abstract

The Minnesota wolf (Canis lupus) population was estimated by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources at 2,450 during winter 1997-1998 and had increased at an average annual rate of 4.5°% since winter 1988-1989. The population may be removed from the federal endangered species list by 2002, and management would then return to the state. A federal recovery team recommended a population goal of 1,250-1,400 wolves for Minnesota, with none in the agricultural region. A plan approved by the Minnesota legislature, however, continues the protection of wolves, except for pet and livestock depredation control, for at least 5 years after delisting. I compare number of wolves of the 1997-1998 population that would have to be killed each year by humans for various types of control versus numbers if the population continued to expand. For the 1997-1998 population, those numbers are in addition to natural mortality, depredation control, and illegal and incidental take at least 1 10 wolves and probably many more to limit wolf range, 685-1,149 wolves for sustained yield, and 929-1,956 to reduce the population. Given conservative assumptions, continued livestock depredation control, and a 4.5% rate of population and range increase as occurred during the past decade, comparable figures for 2007 are at least 171 wolves to limit range expansion, 1,064-1,786 for sustained yield, and 1,444-3,042 to reduce the population. The trend in the population since 1997-1998 is unknown, but these numbers illustrate the magnitude of the potential problems that could arise in managing Minnesota's wolves under various scenarios.