The Game and Fish bill signed into law Thursday allows Minnesotans to legally hunt and trap wolves for the first time in nearly four decades. The legislation gives the DNR authority to set harvest limits and conduct a hunter lottery. About 3,000 wolves live in Minnesota right now and the agency plans to reduce the population by about 400 this fall. The gray wolf was removed from the Federal Endangered Species List in January.

Wildlife officials say a conservation program that protects native grassland is waning, which could hurt the state's wild bird population.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says that a strong harvest and a healthy deer population should make for a robust hunting season. 500,000 hunters are expected to participate in the season that opens Nov. 5.

Gov. Mark Dayton will be in Marshall to mark the opening of pheasant hunting season. The trip builds on a tradition Dayton started last fall, when he visited Montevideo for the first Governor's Pheasant Opener.

The DNR is closing two zones to moose hunters but will allow limited bull-hunting in others. The agency has been reviewing the rules as the moose population continues to fall. The state is issuing fewer than 90 permits this year.

Pheasant counts are up this year compared to 2011, providing good conditions for Minnesota hunters. Hunting season begins October 15.

The First Annual Governor’s Pheasant Opener in Montevideo went off without incident--at least for Gov. Mark Dayton. Other hunters in Dayton's party had better luck Saturday. GOP House Speaker Kurt Zellers and local resident Paul Johannes each bagged a bird, while Dayton went home empty-handed.

The DNR says hunters have harvested 143,000 deer so far this season, down only 7 percent from the same point last year.