Minnesota's wolf management plan is ready, but it may be several years at least before it can be implemented.

The state must wait until the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service delists the wolf as a threatened species in the state, removing the animal from federal protection under the Endangered Species Act.

And that step is dependent on whether the state can actually finance its management plan. "It's not enough for the state to have a management plan; it also has to show it has the money to carry it out," said Ron Refsnider, endangered species list coordinator for Region 3 for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "Without that, the wolf can not be delisted."

That's become more of an issue today, with Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources already cutting its work force and making other program reductions in the midst of a state budget crisis.

In 2000, the DNR estimated its managment plan for wolves would cost $1.575 million in new appropriations over the first three years. That includes funds for a full-time wolf specialist, wolf reseach biologist and three full-time enforcement officers. Other expenses include population monitoring and research, and public education.

In addition, the DNR notes that Minnesota's Department of Agriculture might recommend additional funds beyond its current $158,000 a year base to compensate farmers who lose livestock to wolves.

Add in modest adjustments for inflation and the price tag for the state's wolf management plan gets even higher.

Even if the DNR does get the funds to put the plan into action, Refsnider said it will be at least a year before the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can officially remove the wolf from federal protection. And that's before the inevitable lawsuit, which could delay the process of removing the wolf from federal protection several additional years, he said.

According to Refsnider, Minnesota's numbers justify removing the wolf from federal protection.

When wolves came under federal protection in 1974, Minnesota's wolf population was estimated at 750. As a result of federal and state protection and increasing deer numbers, the wolf population rose to 1,000 to 1,250 by the late 1970s, increasing at an average annual rate of about five percent each year.

By 1988-89, the wolf population had reached an estimated 1,500 to 1,750 - well above the federal recovery plan goal. Based on studies conducted during the winter of 1997-98, the state now estimates its statewide wolf population to be nearly 2,500.

Meanwhile, wolf numbers have increased in neighboring Wisconsin and Michigan to the point that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service expects to downgrade the wolf's protection there from endangered to threatened.

Refsnider said once that step occurs, which could happen in the next couple of months, the agency will begin to consider removing the wolf from federal protection in Minnesota. That process, which will include a series of public meetings, could take a year before a decision is announced.

Refsnider said the growth of the wolf population in surrounding states is critical because protection of the animal is being handled on a regional rather than national basis. Minnesota, as well as Wisconsin and Michigan, are part of what is called the western Great Lakes region. What this means is that Minnesota no longer has to wait for the wolf to recover in Arizona before it can come off the endangered species list in Minnesota," explained Refsnider.

Minnesota's wolf management plan developed out of a series of roundtable meetings across the state in 1998. The DNR submitted a wolf management plan incorporating roundtable suggestions to the state Legislature for approval in 1999. The Legislature considered several amendments to the controversial plan, but wound up not passing any proposal.

In 2000, the DNR drafted a revised bill which was passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jesse Ventura.

Under the plan, Minnesota's wolf population would be allowed to continue to expand with a minimum population goal of 1,600. No general public taking of wolves would be permitted for the first five years once the plan is implemented.

The plan splits the state into two zones. Zone A covers northeastern Minnesota where 85 percent of the state's wolf population roams. Zone B covers the remainder of the state and includes most of the farmland where wolf depredation of livestock is more of a concern.

In Zone A, the killing of wolves is limited to situations of immediate threat, and immediately following verified losses of livestock, domestic animals or pets. The protections offered in Zone A under these conditions are similar to those already in force under the Endangered Species Act.

In Zone B, the killing of depredating wolves is allowed for the purpose of protecting livestock, domestic animals or pets. Documentation of an immediate threat or a verified loss is not required, but killing of wolves is limited to land owned, leased or managed by the animal owner or, by employing a state-certified predator controller, to a one-mile radius from that land.

The wolf protection threshold is lower in this region, because it has a larger population of livestock, domestic animals and pets than Zone A and because Zone B is not essential to wolf recovery in Minnesota, according to the DNR.

To ensure that wolf numbers do not fall dangerously under the state's management plan, the DNR would continue to monitor wolf populations across Minnesota. In addition, the DNR plans to conduct more research with a focus on wolf-livestock interactions and wolf-prey interactions. To meet these goals, the DNR would create a wolf specialist position to provide overall coordination of wolf management activities and a wolf research biologist position to coordinate and conduct wolf research and population monitoring.

The DNR plan also calls for the creation of three conservation officer positions to ensure that wolf laws and regulations are enforced and that depredation responsibilities are handled in a timely manner.

In addition, the plan spells out habitat management goals, public education efforts and punishment for those who illegally kill wolves. Illegal wolf taking is a gross misdemeanor, punishable by fines up to $3,000 and imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year. The restitution value for illegally taken wolves is $2,000.

"The plan is ready," said Con Christianson, of the DNR's Wildlife Division. "It's just been sitting on the shelf until the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can act."