Governor Dayton

September 25, 2013

The Honorable Mark Dayton
Governor of Minnesota
130 State Capitol
75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55155

Dear Governor Dayton:

Coalition Urges Governor Dayton to Suspend 2013 Wolf Hunt, Launches Petition Drive

ST. PAUL (Aug. 14, 2013) – A broad group of wolf advocates, wildlife enthusiasts and hunters today launched a statewide petition asking Governor Mark Dayton and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to suspend the 2013 wolf hunt set to open November 9. The coalition hopes to gather more than 50,000 signatures in the coming weeks and present the petition to Governor Dayton.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                         

Minnesota Wolf Season Quota Announced Following 25% Population Decline

We are all deeply disappointed by the MN wolf hunt signed into law yesterday to start this fall 2012.

Below is a letter that we submitted to the Minnesota Star Tribune today. The current Game and Fish bill with an immediate wolf hunt will go into law May 3, 2012 unless Governor Dayton acts with a line item vetoes for the wolf hunt. Please continue to spread the word and contact the Governor's office directly to say 'No' to a wolf hunt."

Today we met with representatives from the Governor's office to discuss the need to veto the wolf hunt. We sat alongside representatives from a number of organizations: the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources; the Minnesota chapter of the Audubon Society; the Sierra Club; the Humane Society; the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe; and the Center for Biological Diversity.

Today the MN State Senate debated and ultimately passed off the floor and into conference the Game and Fish Bill.  Senator Hann offered the amendment that we asked for and requested the original five year wait period on the hunting and trapping of MN's wolves.  The amendment got about as many votes as we could have hoped for but not enough to carry the day.  We lost 26 to 40 votes.