Dear Neighbor,
Separate discussions pertaining to wolves and property rights have made headlines lately. I thought I’d get local residents up to speed and send along my thoughts on those issues.
The subject of property rights popped up when Gov. Mark Dayton opened a can of worms by telling a group during a speech that he proposes “a 50 foot [grass or similar] buffer be placed around all state waters.” This requirement would be “enforced by the DNR through aerial and other inspections.’’
That is a ridiculous plan. First of all, our government would be confiscating land from property owners. Think how that would chop up properties. You would have ribbons of untouchable land more than 100 feet wide running through properties.
Even if people were willing sellers, can you imagine what that would cost the state? And what would it cost to deploy a small army of enforcement agents to stomp around people’s land to make sure people are complying?
Dayton’s proposal has not been introduced to the House in bill form yet, but I would oppose expanding buffer strips the way he mentioned in his speech. Even Dayton’s own Ag. commissioner is not enthused by ideas like this, so let’s hope it does not see the light of day.
I talked more about this subject in a recent public TV appearance I made on a show called Your Legislators. Click here http://www.pioneer.org/your-legislators.html for the full show, but we touched on a wide range of subjects. (Note: The show usually features two Republicans and two Democrats, but no Democrats appeared despite a number of them being invited.)
The program allows for viewers to email questions to us and two of the very first ones came from Forest Lake residents who wanted to know about timberwolf depredation and a decline in the deer population.
A House committee I chair recently took up related discussions and here a recap:
A federal judge recently put timberwolves back on the endangered species list, which really ties our hands at the state level. This is a big issue in Minnesota, especially in northern regions. We no longer can have a wolf hunting/trapping season – it is a federal crime to kill one unless your life is in danger. There also is no longer a federal program to provide funding that would help us take care of problems wolves are causing in Minnesota.
I strongly disagree with the judge’s decision, which impacts Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. The other two states have far fewer wolves than ours and, without recourse, this is going to be devastating to our farmers and even further reduce Minnesota’s diminishing deer and moose populations.
Here is a link to a Pioneer Press article from this week that shows exactly how this judge’s decision has angered livestock producers: http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_27401388/minnesota-cattlemen-angered-by-court-ruling-restoring-wolf
I have hunted in Lake of the Woods County in northern Minnesota since the 1970s and know first-hand how deer numbers have fallen. Hunting always had been tremendous up there, but it has gotten worse and worse over the last decade. It has gotten so bad that I have not even seen a deer from my stand the last three years.
The DNR is partly to blame for that dropoff, which coincided with more liberal bag policies it allowed. But this judge’s decision to re-list wolves is only going to make things worse. We can appeal the case, but it will take years to reverse this decision – and its impacts – even if we are successful.
I will keep you posted as anything develops on either of these issues and more. In the meantime, I welcome your feedback.
Sincerely,
Tom