Section 1 [DNR mission] adds the recruitment of new outdoor recreation participants and the retention of outdoor recreation participants to the DNR’s mission.

Section 2 [Bait harvest from infested waters] allows limited use of certain fish species from infested waters as bait.

Section 3 [Bonus permit definition] adds a license issued to owners and tenants of agricultural land under the definition of “bonus permit” for deer.

Section 4 [Unprotected wild animals definition] removes reference to “brush wolf” in describing coyotes.

Section 5 [Technical] eliminates obsolete report provision.

Section 6 [Deer feeding and wild cervidae health management account] eliminates specific reporting on expenditures from the use of the deer feeding and wild cervidae health management account.

Section 7 [Wolf license] provides that the revenue from selling wolf licenses is dedicated and appropriated to the DNR for wolf management, research damage control, enforcement, and education.

Section 8 [Vacating refuges open to hunting] allows the DNR to vacate a state game refuge that has been open to hunting for at least five years by publishing notice in the State Register.

Section 9 [Portable stands on WMAs] allows options for marking portable stands that are left on wildlife management areas (WMAs) overnight for bear hunting.

Section 10 [Prohibition on obtaining a big game license] provides for a one year license revocation for illegally baiting deer and taking a trophy deer (score above 170).  This section also provides that a conviction requiring license revocation is doubled when the conviction is for a trophy deer.

Section 11 [Owners or tenants of agricultural land] expands the owner and tenant provision to areas without a lottery and provides that deer taken under this section do not count toward the person’s bag limit.

Section 12 [Under age 16 trapping] provides that wolves may not be taken by persons under age 16 who are trapping without a trapping license.

Section 13 [Residents under age 16; big game] provides that the current law for under age 16 big game licensure is for residents.

Section 14 [Nonresidents under age 16; big game] requires nonresidents age 12 to 15 to have a firearm safety certificate to purchase a big game license.  Nonresidents age 12 and 13 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian while hunting big game.  Nonresidents age 10 and 11 may obtain a license to hunt big game and must be accompanied by a parent or guardian within immediate reach.

Sections 15 to 17 [Lifetime licenses] provides that a people with a lifetime hunting license do not include the trapping of wolves.

Section 18 [Resident wolf hunting license fee] establishes the wolf hunting license fee for residents is $26.

Section 19 [Nonresident wolf hunting license fee] establishes the nonresident wolf hunting license fee is $230.

Section 20 [Wolf trapping license] establishes the wolf trapping fee is $26 and may be issued to residents only.

Section 21 [Technical] deletes an obsolete waiver request to the federal government.

Section 22 [Shooting a firearm near a stockade or corral] expands the current prohibition to any shooting of a firearm within 500 feet of a stockade or corral.

Section 23 [Firearms safety certificates; exemptions for veterans] exempts anyone who successfully complete basic training from the firearms safety training requirement.

Sections 24 and 25 [Firearms and ammunition to take wolves] provide that the firearms and ammunition allowed to take big game are the same firearms and ammunition allowed to take wolves.

Section 26 [Scopes on muzzleloaders] allows scopes on muzzleloaders during the muzzleloader season.

Section 27 [Bow hunting for wolves] provides that a bow used for taking wolves must have a pull of 30 pounds or greater.

Section 28 [Shooting prohibited; public highway] provides the current restrictions on shooting at big game within a highway right-of-way to include a firearm with No. 4 buckshot or larger or a single projectile.

Section 29 [Blaze orange requirement; bow hunting] allows a bow hunter to take small game without blaze orange while in a stationary location.

Section 30 [Hunting hours for wolves] provides that wolves may be taken from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset.

Section 31 [Remote-controlled motorized decoys] makes remote-controlled motorized decoys for taking migratory water fowl or doves legal in Minnesota.  This section also allows for two-way communication with dogs.

Section 32 [Mechanical or electronic assistance; physically disabled] allows the DNR to authorize a physically disabled person to use any electronic or mechanical device to discharge a gun or bow.

Section 33 [Hunter-harvested venison donations] provides that hunter-harvested venison donations are not subject to the state food law and must be clearly marked as hunter-harvested venison.

Section 34 [Deer baiting] makes clarifying amendments to the deer baiting law, including a prohibition on the reintroduction of agricultural crops concentrated where a person is hunting.

Section 35 [Nonresident trapping] prohibits nonresidents from trapping wolves.

Section 36 [License exceptions] provides that landowners and residents under age 16 may not trap wolves without a wolf license and that a person may take a wolf without a small game license.

Section 37 [Party hunting] provides that small game party hunting provisions do not apply to the taking of wolves.  Similar to turkey hunting, a person licensed for the same zone may assist a licensee as long as they do not tag the wolf.

Section 38 [DNR restrictions] allows the DNR to restrict the taking of wolves and designated areas where wolf taking is prohibited.

Section 39 [Technical] deletes the term “gray” when referring to “wolves.”

Section 40 [Taking wolves] provides that a person may not take a wolf without a wolf license and allows the DNR to establish open seasons, open areas, daily and possession limits, limits on hunters for the taking of wolves.  This section also establishes a $4 fee for the wolf license application and allows the DNR to establish wolf quotas.

Section 41 [Beaver control] allows road authorities to take beaver causing damage to a public road without a permit.

Section 42 [Predator control payments] give the DNR the authority to establish predator control payments by order published in the State Register.

Section 43 [Wolf predator controllers] eliminates the $150 amount for predator controllers and allows the DNR to establish the fee by written order in the State Register.

Section 44 [Fall turkey season] deletes a specific provision requiring a four-week fall turkey season in the metropolitan area.

Section 45 [Hunter concealment] allows the DNR to designate open-water areas for taking migratory waterfowl where there is not adequate cover to conceal hunters.

Section 46 [Wolf carcass registration] requires the whole carcass of the wolf, with the pelt removed, for registration with a state wildlife manager designee.

Section 47 [Body-gripping traps] prohibits the use of a conibear-type 220 trap, unless the trap is three feet above the surface, no bait is within 20 feet, or the trap is recessed seven inches within a container with an opening no greater than 81 inches.

Sections 48 to 49 [Trout seasons] authorize more flexibility for the DNR to establish winter trout seasons.

Section 50 [Restitution value for wolves] directs the DNR to amend rules to set the restitution value for wolves at $500. The current rule has the restitution value set at $2,000.

Section 51 [Use of snares] directs the DNR to amend rules on snares related to the taking of wolves.

Section 52 [2012 Firearms wolf season] directs the DNR to have the 2012 wolf hunting season start on the deer opener.

Section 53 [Revisor instruction] directs the Revisor of the Statutes to delete the term “gray” when referring to “wolves.”

Section 54 [Repealer] repeals Minnesota Statutes, sections:

            97A.045, subdivisions 8 – license reciprocity with Wisconsin;

            97A.045, subdivisions 13 – collection of deer and elk in bovine TB zone;

            97A.065, subdivision 1 – money from sales of turtles and rough fish;

            97A.095, subdivision 3 – hunting on Muskrat Lake;

            97A.331, subdivision 7 – gross misdemeanor for taking wolves;

            97A.485, subdivision 12 – youth deer license;

            97A.552 – restrictions on transporting fish from Canada;

            97B.645, subdivision 2 – requiring a permit to snare a wolf; and

            97C.031 – lakes with unbalanced fish populations.

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