The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources deserves credit for taking a prudent approach to a wolf season— one that reflects the decidedly mixed views of state residents over the prospect of hunting gray wolves.

Many Minnesotans would consider it a thrill to see a wolf in the wild, and that possibility, along with facilities like the International Wolf Center, have helped attract visitors to the North Country, long the foundation of the state’s wolf population. For others, the prospect of shooting a wolf is equally thrilling, and there’s no doubt the possibility of bagging this spectacular carnivore is also attracting hunters to our region.

Fortunately, the DNR’s careful approach to the hunt should help ensure that Minnesota maintains a healthy wolf population to please just about every perspective.

That’s not necessarily the case in other states, where officials have been much more focused on killing wolves. In Wisconsin, for example, the state’s Department of Natural Resources recently set its annual wolf quota at 275, about one-third of that state’s wolf population. In Montana, where only about 600 wolves live in the entire state, there is no overall quota and hunters can shoot and trap wolves nearly six months of the year.

By contrast, the Minnesota DNR will allow 225 wolves to be taken this fall, about ten percent of the population. That means Minnesota will have a lower quota than neighboring Wisconsin, despite having a wolf population that’s three times as large.

A cautious approach in Minnesota is wise. Most Minnesotans, even some of those who occasionally complain about them, are proud of the fact that the state has long had the largest wolf population in the lower 48 states, and by a wide margin. Wolves are part of what makes the North Country what it is. When the latest wolf survey data became available, which showed Minnesota’s wolf population had dipped to about 2,200 animals (from 2,900 in the 2008 survey) the DNR responded appropriately by substantially lowering this year’s quota.

While many Minnesotans still oppose wolf hunting, it’s interesting to note that it appears that last year’s hunt significantly reduced the number of complaints of wolf depredation of livestock. Last year, federal trappers killed 200 wolves due to complaints from ranchers. As of early August this year, that number is just 20. Last year’s hunt probably doesn’t account for the entire drop, but it’s almost certainly a factor. Fewer attacks on livestock is good news for everyone, and it’s even good news for wolves if the trend continues. When wolves aren’t seen as a threat by livestock producers, they’re much more likely to live and let live when a wolf happens to pass by.

The latest wolf survey demonstrates that the wolf population remains healthy, but also suggests that the population has stopped growing, most likely in response to somewhat lower deer densities in many parts of wolf range. The view that wolves will just continue to grow in population without some sort of human intervention has always been an inaccurate one. Predator populations are known to regulate themselves based on the carrying capacity of their prey populations, and it appears that Minnesota’s wolf population is another example of that. The latest survey, which indicates a 700-animal decline in the state’s wolf population since 2008, is more than just a response to last year’s first-ever wolf season, during which just over 400 wolves were taken. It’s evidence that wolf densities are stable or even declining slightly in much of northern Minnesota.

A wolf hunt that harvests 10 percent of the population is no threat to the species’ survival. If anything, it will allow room for a few younger wolves to take their place in the hundreds of wolf packs that inhabit the state’s forests.

Some states have tilted too heavily in favor of hunting wolves. Minnesota has taken a different approach, by providing a hunting opportunity for those who want it, while maintaining a strong wolf population for those who just want the opportunity to see one in the wild.

The DNR deserves credit for its careful balancing act.