Minnesota Fed to the Wolves with Steve Porter

For ranchers, pet owners, hunters and landowners in Minnesota's wolf country, how wolves are managed shows up in the pasture, in the yard and in the checkbook. On October 2, the Minnesota nonprofit Hunters for Hunters released a documentary, Minnesota Fed to the Wolves, built on firsthand accounts from cattle producers, pet owners, hunters and rural business owners.

Its director, Hunters for Hunters board member Steve Porter, joins Chrissy Wozniak to talk about what he heard on the road: calves lost and not paid for, pets taken from yards, and deer gone from land people still pay taxes on. He explains why he says federal protection and state politics leave landowners with little recourse, and how sheriff investigations changed claim payments in one county.

Steve also shares his own fight as a Minnesota deer farmer over fencing, inspections and farm-sale restrictions, and why he is urging hunters and farmers to vote this fall.

The claims and opinions in this episode are Steve's own, based on his experience and his reading of the record.

Chapters

• 0:04 Intro: the documentary and why the timing matters
• 1:25 Steve's background and how he joined Hunters for Hunters
• 3:18 Making the documentary in six to seven weeks
• 5:10 Federal protection and why the state says it can't act
• 6:49 The wolf season ban vote
• 9:19 Lost calves and compensation
• 13:00 Sheriffs investigating wolf claims and the burden of proof
• 16:35 Wolf attacks on pets
• 17:54 Wolves in town and the loss of deer
• 19:49 The lodge owner who stopped opening for deer season
• 21:00 Is the damage intentional? Lessons from 20 town halls
• 23:25 The governor's race and where candidates stand
• 24:42 The congressional hearing and the empty chair
• 26:12 The DNR wolf management plan and the federal bill
• 28:23 What listeners can do
• 29:15 Steve's deer farm and the laws that target it
• 35:45 Game warden inspections and constitutional rights
• 39:02 Steve's view on why this is happening
• 41:19 The election and what it means for his farm
• 45:12 The main takeaway for lawmakers and voters
• 48:23 Why Steve keeps fighting
• 50:46 How to reach Steve

Key points

• The documentary, Minnesota Fed to the Wolves, was released October 2 by Hunters for Hunters and built on interviews with cattle producers, pet owners, hunters and rural business owners.
• Steve says the Great Lakes wolf remains under federal protection, which allows shooting a wolf only when it is attacking a person, and that the state uses that protection as a reason not to act.
• He describes one producer who lost 35 calves in a year and was paid for about three calves and one cow.
• He says that when sheriffs in Kittson County began investigating wolf claims, more farmers were paid.
• He says the standard of proof for a wolf kill is civil, meaning more likely than not, but that game wardens act as if it were criminal.
• On his own deer farm, Steve says state laws bar him from selling the farm at retirement or selling breeding stock, and that he was prosecuted for not building a $200,000 fence.
• His message to listeners: watch the film, join Hunters for Hunters if you want to help, and vote.

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