Since then, the federal wildlife agency has considered the effective management of gray wolves in Minnesota a critical component in its national graywolf recovery effort.
The Minnesota House Agriculture Committee approved a bill March 10 that will allow the hunting and trapping of Minnesotagray wolves as long as the state wolf population exceeds 1, 600 animals.
"The Minnesota plan represents one of the final chapters in a tremendous graywolf success story, both here and across the nation, " said Bill Hartwig, regional director of the Fish and Wildlife Service.