Schmitt; Minnesota Wolf Population Is Growing [PODCAST]

The Minnesota Wolf population is growing.  Glen Schmitt from Outdoor News says there is evidence that wolves are damaging the deer population in northern Minnesota and a wolf hunt could make sense for the state.  The DNR announced earlier this week that Minnesota will not have a wolf hunting season this year despite receiving clearance to do so because wolves have been removed from the endangered list in Minnesota.  Wisconsin has chosen to have a wolf hunting season and Schmitt says the interest is there to participate in wolf hunting in Minnesota.  The DNR estimates that the wolf population in Minnesota is at 2,700 with peak at 3,000 between 2002-2005.  The lowest point was in the 1960s when Minnesota had an estimated 350 wolves in the state.

Invasive species like starry stonewort continue to cause issues on lakes in Minnesota.  The Minnesota DNR has confirmed that starry stonewort has been spotted on the 17th lake in Minnesota.  The lake this time is Pimushe Lake, about 20 miles northeast of Bemidji in Beltrami County.  Glen Schmitt says this invasive species was also spotted on Lake Koronis near Paynesville.  He says 17 lakes doesn't seem like much but this up until recently was only in the southern portions of the United States.

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Glen says fishing early and late continue to be the best times to be on the water.  He says the extreme hot weather led him to fishing in the evening but the cooler weather midweek this week was a nice relief.  Schmitt says he's had to work a bit harder to land walleye lately but fishing throughout the state is still good.