Minnesota releases updated draft gray wolf management plan

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Wildlife managers say Minnesota’s gray wolf population is resilient and robust, and they’ve released a draft updated plan to keep it that way. The Department of Natural Resources on Thursday (June 23, 2022) laid out a blueprint for the next 10 years to strengthen conservation and minimize conflicts between people and predators. It calls for maintaining a statewide population of 2,200 to 3,000 wolves. That’s in line with recent estimates of about 2,700 and around where it’s been since the late 1990s. The plan does not take a position on whether Minnesota should resume wolf hunting if they’re removed from federal protection.