Feb. 14—FORESTVILLE TOWNSHIP, Minn. — Wolves are rarely seen in the southern part of Minnesota, but a Spring Valley man has been cited for shooting and killing a gray wolf in southern Forestville Township in Fillmore County.
According to a Jan. 11, 2025, citation issued by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Lucas Dean Heusinkveld, 21, of Spring Valley, Minnesota, shot and killed a gray wolf while out hunting coyotes.
DNR spokesman Joe Albert said the incident, in which a female wolf was shot and killed, is under investigation.
In the meantime, the DNR has taken possession of the wolf carcass.
According to the DNR, as of Feb. 10, 2022, gray wolves are once again a federally protected threatened species, and under current federal guidelines, wolves may only be taken in defense of human life.
That said, the DNR’s own handbook on hunting and trapping regulations notes, “Wolves have been mistakenly shot outside Minnesota’s primary wolf range because hunters thought they were coyotes. Wolves were once restricted to the northern part of Minnesota, but they have expanded their range and could show up in any part of the state.”
The same guidebook notes that adult gray wolves are about twice as tall and can be three times the weight of adult coyotes, but the animals have similar shapes and coloring.
Still, the hunting and trapping regulations state, “Shooting a wolf because you think it is a coyote is illegal and punishable by Minnesota game and fish laws.”
The DNR estimated in 2021 that there were roughly 2,770 wolves in Minnesota.
Coyotes are legal to hunt year-round, Albert added.
“Coyotes are considered unprotected mammals in Minnesota,” he said. “The season is continuous and there is no limit on the number that can be taken.”