They are having them all over the state, 2-3 a week. HUGE crowds. This was last night.

Where was that one?How was it?

That pic is from last night in Aurora. I was not there, there are some coming closer to me so I'll wait but they are drawing huge crowds everywhere.

Good...I'm going in January If I possibly can

Looks like a good group of people. Sitting nice and calm. No signs waving or "peaceful protesting" going on.

It’s a “try that in a small town” kinda people….haha.
Who’s putting these meetings on, DNR? And are they info sessions or are they looking for area opinions/options/suggestions?

NO NOT BY A LONG SHOT!

These are hunters and trappers who know we need to do something about wolves.

Aaaaaand they’ll accomplish what?

The future for anything DNR lies down the path of the woke. The wolves have become the third rail in Minnesota.
Controlling power means nothing, neither side will seriously challenge the suburban position to aid the dwindling number of sportsman.

Osky

I'm a little more optimistic than that.

I read on FB that although the meeting was peaceful and they had a good turn out, it wasn't very informative. If they have one closer to me I'll probably attend.

— Gov. Tim Walz says he supports legislation to ban the recreational hunting of wolves in Minnesota if the federal government succeeds in removing them from the threatened list.

Any guesses who chose the current MN DNR Commissioner and the direction she would choose ?

Hope is fine, agreed. Groups of disgruntled hunters may be a start but not the answer.
Pointing to a few western states trying to control wolves is chasing smoke. Those states still have enough rural, stock growing type reality mind sets to see the forest for the trees. But notice the increasing battles there? The influx of
people thinking otherwise and the collapse of political backbone will doom the cause there as well.

The wolf is not the enemy, the “constituency” is. The only way to change that is to take back the school system from the beginnings on up and the principals in charge and working there. Hard to get hunters and trappers to focus on getting involved on school boards but that’s exactly where the common sense needs to start, not relying on or funding some donation seeking politicians or groups. . Learn the playbook, how do you think they got us to this point?

It starts small and grows. The antis and left are very good at that. Meetings of sportsman stomping their feet and hollering “we want the old days” and thinking you’re going to invoke lasting change with a few votes or like minded representatives will come to nothing.

You’re thinking of winning a battle while the other side anticipates the war.

Osky

Education is never a bad thing Osky, that's where we start, educating the masses. Most people don't even know who the enemy is or how the system works. This is a good start.

Steve Porter is the speaker and I believe is the organizer. The DNR will likely be less willing to work with this group because of his history with them. I’m not dissing Steve just saying him and the DNR have had a heated history.

He’s a deer farmer from NW Minnesota. He had a YouTube channel,Steve Porters Trophy Whitetails,that had some interaction with the DNR. There are also some under the Dillon Porter channel.

Fact is biology doesn’t factor into wildlife management much anymore. The only push back so far from other side has been severe winters are the cause for deer decline. Sure it does have an impact.
Well we can’t control weather but we can control wolves. Severe winters are killing deer during a global warming period. Hmmm? No logic

There is some videos on a YouTube channel, Cold Vision Outdoors, as well. Not sure how post a link but search under deer documentary

I've known Steve for quite a while and he has been very vocal about deer farms and wolves. Part of it comes from the fact that he owns a deer farm (80 acre fenced in enclosure) and has been the sheriff of Kittson county where some of the worst livestock depredation has been taking place by wolves. So he has been very involved. I have had quite a few conversations with him about deer farms and we both strongly hold the view that tame deer in pens are not wildlife they are livestock, but the DNR just can't seem to accept that deer which are bought and sold as livestock and never see the wild are not wildlife. They gotta have control over everything they can. Deer farms should be controlled by the dept. of Agriculture, not by the DNR.

Off my soapbox now.

No disagreement.


No difference with how the DNR controlled fur farms when it should have been under ag.

Governor Walz is certainly no friend to trappers and hunters. He happily signed a bill to ban turtle trapping that had no biological basis which was passed by a DFL Majority House and Senate The DNR supported this bill also. The bill was pushed by the same out of state group (Center for Biological Diversity) that has sued various states over Lynx issues. There were about 18 commercial trappers left, and the position was that we were devastating the resource. I fully believe that the DNR hates anyone making money off the renewable natural resources of this state.

All of our legislative problems stem from DFL control of the Legislature and the Governor's office. I am not at all hopeful of a Republican governor or a Republican majority House and Senate happening anytime soon, if ever, in Minnesota. National news talks about Minnesota as the California of the Midwest. This is an accurate assessment of the current political climate in this state.

How many DFL members of the Minnesota House and Senate fully support wolf trapping and hunting in Minnesota? How many fully support fur trapping and stand in opposition to more restrictions on trappers.?

Maybe they should attend some of these get togethers especially in the north and see what the public has to say.

I was told by someone the best way to deal with wolves was very good optics? I didn’t quite understand and he said, “Don’t shoot the ones with collars!”

I've heard there are some awful big coyotes running around with collars.
The collars rub the neck fur something terrible so no value. Might as well leave em.