David Trauba, Minnesota Depart­ment of Natural Resources Wildlife Area supervisor at the Lac Qui Parle Wildlife Management Area expressed concerns over the $10 bounty that Chippewa County recently enacted......There is no limit to the amount of Coyotes that can be killed.............."As a wildlife professional it is very disturbing," he said. "Bounties are not effective. It was something that was rightly done away with at the turn of the century."He explained that for years people have done everything to whittle coyote populations to little effect."They're very adaptable," Trauba said. "And having a bounty in the winter months isn't going to address a livestock concern."......He advised that a better approach for livestock producers having a problem would be to target the specific coyote creating the problem, as well as becoming better ranchers and doing a better job of protecting their cattle

Chippewa County coyote bounty raises concerns

By Jeremy Jones

Montevideo, MN —

Last Month, the Chippewa County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to enact a $10 bounty on coyotes from Dec. 1 through April 1 of each year.

This makes Chippewa County the first county in Minnesota to have a bounty on coyotes since 1965. This action comes after Chippewa County pushed for legislation in the last session that enabled counties to be able to set their own bounties for coyotes. Two attempts had been made to obtain this legislation previously, but they both failed.

While Chippewa County is the first to enact a bounty, commissioners mentioned it was likely other nearby counties would follow suite.

At the Oct. 28 District 6 commissioners meeting in Olivia, the counties discussed maintaining a uniform bounty on coyotes. This would prevent hunters from bringing kills to whichever county had the more favorable price, and increase the chances that each county might have success culling the animals.

The commissioners explained that cattle and sheep producers had been complaining about coyotes attacking their younger livestock. They also said hunters had expressed concern that a coyote overpopulation was causing a decrease in deer population, because the coyotes were preying on fawns.

To claim the bounty on a coyote, it must be killed through legal means through trapping or shooting in Chippewa County and brought to the Sheriff's Office in Montevideo. A hole will be punched in the animal's ear to indicate that a bounty has been paid, and then the hunter may sell the pelt, which the commissioners estimated to be worth around $15. Hunters must also report where in the county the coyote was killed.

No limit was set on the amount of coyotes a person can collect a bounty on.

David Trauba, Depart­ment of Natural Resources Wildlife Area supervisor at the Lac Qui Parle Wildlife Management Area expressed concerns over the bounty.

"As a wildlife professional it is very disturbing," he said. "Bounties are not effective. It was something that was rightly done away with at the turn of the century."He explained that for years people have done everything to whittle coyote populations to little effect."They're very adaptable," Trauba said. "And having a bounty in the winter months isn't going to address a livestock concern."

He advised that a better approach for livestock producers having a problem would be to target the specific coyote creating the problem.

"They're unprotected … you can hunt them all year," Trauba said. "There are plenty of coyote hunters, this isn't going to bring in more, but now we're going to be paying for them."