Federal official promises to fund wolf trapping

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar says federal officials have pledged money to restart the wolf trapping program in Minnesota.

Klobuchar tells the Duluth News Tribune that Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has promised money from his agency’s operating budget for the program which ran out of money Friday and shut down.

Klobuchar says the program is needed to keep Minnesota residents and livestock safe. The USDA has been trapping and killing wolves in Minnesota since 1978. Last year, 192 wolves were killed. Federal officials estimate there are about 3,200 wolves in Minnesota, where the species is classified as threatened.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service want to “delist” wolves as an endangered species by the end of 2011 and give management back to state and tribal natural resource agencies.