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The new group Hunters for Hunters attracted several elected officials to a meeting at the Babbitt Municipal Center on Feb. 22.
Rep. Cal Warwas (R) told the crowd of 100 he was newly elected in November.
“I can tell you right now we need some big changes in this state,” said Warwas. “I’ve signed on today to John Burkel’s bill about the wolf hunt if they are the listed, which of course we all want and I know there’s some others that are going to be working on a stronger bill as well,” said Warwas.
“We gotta keep both feet on the gas on this issue. Your voices are being heard. It’s very important that you have citizen input. I can’t tell you how critical it is that when you have these social media channels, that you use them, that you share posts out with your friends outside of your friend groups and get the word out because the people’s voice matters,” said Warwas. Rep. Roger Skraba (R) said, “According to the current occupied wolf range, it’s estimated to be 28,561 miles approximately one third of the state. I’m almost half of the wolf range in the district I represent, which is Babbitt, which is here.”
Skraba said he questioned Burkel on his bill which includes the DNR’s wolf management plan. “The DNR’s management plan isn’t what we want. I said, I’ll write another bill without the DNR management plan. I’ll sign on to his, he’ll sign on for mine, and we’ll see which one makes it through what we can do. But we’re fighting the (Lt. Gov.) Peggy Flanagans. We’re fighting Gov. Tim Waltz,” said Skraba. BabbittMayorAndreaZupancich spoke to the group as well and said she ran a Republican against Sen. Grant Hauschild (DFL).
“So all of us have stories, like real life stories of wolves. I mean, I can tell you before myself, Dave, when I saw that deer in front of your store, how horrifying, right?” said Zupancich. “And then another one the next day, right outside of town. My biggest fear is that they come to eat children next.
“We all have stories of dogs, pets being taken cats, my husband went to go see someone who had let his golden retriever out and a half hour later, he couldn’t find it. He found the retriever to a couple different pieces.
“In Ely, there are stories running wolves running right up on the deck. One woman grabbed her pet out of the wolf’s mouth amazingly enough, brought that pet to the vet, and the only reason why that pet survived was because it was a pit bull because of all the muscle that they have,” said Zupancich.
U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber wasn’t able to be at the meeting but sent a video where he said he is working to delist the wolf at the federal level. “Hey, listen, we’re gonna delist the gray wolf this Congress like we did last Congress in a bipartisan fashion,” said Stauber. “We have a great secretary of interior, and working together, you all, with us working together, we’re gonna get it done.”
There was also discussion on the Chippewa Tribes and that there isn’t a wolf clan as Flanagan has described.
Skraba said in order to make changes, it will take electing a Republican governor and getting a new DNR Commissioner.
