ST. PAUL, MINN.— Last month, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C. ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reinstate federal endangered species protection to gray wolves in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. The decision brought an immediate halt to wolf hunting, and Minnesotans can no longer legally kill a wolf except in the defense of human life.
In response, House Speaker Kurt Daudt (R-Crown), Rep. Dan Fabian (R-Roseau) and several other Republican state representatives sent a letter to Attorney General Lori Swanson on January 14, 2015, asking her to intervene and, if necessary, file an appeal on behalf of Minnesota citizens.
“Ending the wolf hunt in Minnesota greatly impacts Northwestern Minnesota, limiting the ability of farmers and ranchers to protect their property,” said Rep. Fabian. “We need to take whatever legal steps necessary to reverse this hasty, overreaching decision from the District Court. I am hopeful that Attorney General Swanson will be sympathetic to the plight of Minnesotans affected by a growing wolf population and take the necessary steps to appeal the court’s decision and put wolf management back under the control of Minnesota.”