1.1 A bill for an act
1.2 relating to game and fish; requiring an open season for wolves; amending Minnesota
1.3 Statutes 2024, sections 97A.451, subdivision 3; 97B.645, subdivision 9; 97B.646;
1.4 97B.647, subdivision 2.
1.5BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.6 Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 97A.451, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
1.7 Subd. 3.Residents and nonresidents under age 16; small game.(a) A resident or
1.8nonresident under age 16 may not obtain a small-game license but may take small game by
1.9firearms or bow and arrow without a license if the resident or nonresident is:
1.10 (1) age 14 or 15 and possesses a firearms safety certificate;
1.11 (2) age 13, possesses a firearms safety certificate, and is accompanied by a parent or
1.12guardian;
1.13 (3) age 13, 14, or 15, and possesses an apprentice-hunter validation as provided under
1.14section 97B.022; or
1.15 (4) age 12 or under and is accompanied by a parent or guardian.
1.16 (b) A resident under age 16 may take small game, other than wolves, by trapping without
1.17a small-game license, but a resident 13 years of age or older must have a trapping license.
1.18A resident under age 13 may trap small game, other than wolves, without a trapping license,
1.19but may not register fisher, otter, bobcat, or pine marten unless the resident is at least age
1.20five. Any fisher, otter, bobcat, or pine marten taken by a resident under age five must be
1.21included in the limit of the accompanying parent or guardian.
1Section 1.
25-04798 as introduced03/11/25 REVISOR CKM/EN
SENATE
STATE OF MINNESOTA
S.F. No. 2720NINETY-FOURTH SESSION
(SENATE AUTHORS: WESENBERG)
OFFICIAL STATUSD-PGDATE
Introduction and first reading03/20/2025
Referred to Environment, Climate, and Legacy 2.1 (c) A resident or nonresident under age 13 must obtain a free turkey license to take
2.2turkey and may take a turkey without a firearms safety certificate if the resident or
2.3nonresident is accompanied by an adult parent or guardian who has a firearms safety
2.4certificate.
2.5 (d) A resident under age 13 may apply for a prairie-chicken license and may take a
2.6prairie chicken without a firearms safety certificate if the resident is accompanied by an
2.7adult parent or guardian who has a firearms safety certificate.
2.8 Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 97B.645, subdivision 9, is amended to read:
2.9 Subd. 9.Open season.There shall be no (a) The commissioner must prescribe an annual
2.10open season for wolves until after under section 97B.647 unless the wolf is delisted listed
2.11under the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973. After that time, the commissioner may
2.12prescribe open seasons and restrictions for taking wolves but must provide opportunity for
2.13public comment.
2.14 (b) The commissioner must annually consult with the commissioner of agriculture and
2.15the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service,
2.16before determining the season, restrictions, and other requirements of the open season
2.17required under this subdivision. The consultation must include a review of available data
2.18on wolf depredation on livestock and pets and other incidents of human conflict and must
2.19have a goal of maintaining a population of wolves in this state of between 1,251 and 1,400,
2.20except as modified by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
2.21 Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 97B.646, is amended to read:
2.22 97B.646 WOLF MANAGEMENT .
2.23 (a) The commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner of agriculture, shall adopt
2.24a wolf management plan that includes goals to ensure the long-term survival of the wolf in
2.25Minnesota, to reduce conflicts between wolves and humans, to minimize depredation of
2.26livestock and domestic pets, and to manage the ecological impact of wolves on prey species
2.27and other predators. Once the management plan is adopted, the commissioner may amend,
2.28rescind, or adopt a new plan only when expressly directed to do so by the legislature.
2.29 (b) The commissioner shall compile a list that is updated quarterly on known wolf deaths,
2.30based on reporting by conservation officers. The list must specify the date and location of
2.31each wolf death and must be available on the department website.
2.32 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.
2Sec. 3.
25-04798 as introduced03/11/25 REVISOR CKM/EN 3.1 Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 97B.647, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
3.2 Subd. 2.Open seasons.Wolves may be taken with legal firearms, with bow and arrow,
3.3and by trapping. The open season to take wolves with firearms begins each year on the same
3.4day as the opening of the firearms deer-hunting season. The commissioner may by rule
3.5prescribe the open seasons for wolves according to this subdivision is between November
3.61 and January 31.
3Sec. 4.
25-04798 as introduced03/11/25 REVISOR CKM/EN