Agriculture Bill funds Minnesota wolf program

Wednesday, October 21, 2009 12:23 PM CDT

Washington D.C. - A federal program that reimburses Minnesota farmers for livestock lost to wolves will receive $700,000 this coming year.

The funding for the Wolf Predation Program, which covers Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, was included in the Fiscal Year 2010 Agricultural Appropriations Act which was passed by the House of Representatives today.

“This is an important program for Minnesota,” said Congressman Jim Oberstar. “The gray wolf is an endangered species and is not subject to hunting and other means of control. It is vitally important that farmers and other property owners are fairly compensated for damages caused by wolves.”

Minnesota's wolf population dropped to an all-time low of about 750 by the early 1960s, but since the Endangered Species Act was passed in the late 1970s, the number of gray wolves in Minnesota has grown to nearly 3,000.

“The Endangered Species Act is allowing Minnesota's wolf population to grow, but that success means that wolves are now present in areas where they have not lived for decades. We need to ensure that a sound management and compensation program is in place to address the problems that arise when wolves move into agricultural areas.”

The Agricultural Appropriations Act will now be sent to the Senate for final approval and will then go to President Obama to be signed into law.

Comments »

Comment on this story

Comments will be approved within 48 hours

Name:

Email: (optional)

Comments:

Image Verification: (Case sensitive)