King’s Outdoor World Blog

Western Great Lakes Wolves Now Delisted

March 14th, 2007 David King - King's Outdoor World

Video Source: USFWS

Interior Department Announces Delisting of Western Great Lakes Wolves

The US Fish and Wildlife Service officially removed the western Great Lakes population of gray wolves from the federal endangered species list on Monday March 12, 2007. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has determined the species in the western Great Lakes region is recovered, and the agency has removed gray wolves in this region from protection under the federal Endangered Species Act.

The Service’s removal of the gray wolf from the endangered and threatened species list applies to the Western Great Lakes Distinct Population Segment. This area includes the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan as well as parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. The DPS includes all the areas currently occupied by wolf packs in Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin, as well as nearby areas in these states in which wolf packs may become established in the future. The DPS also includes surrounding areas into which wolves may disperse but are not likely to establish packs.

Rebounding from a few hundred wolves in Minnesota in the 1970s when listed as endangered, the region’s gray wolf population now numbers about 4,000 and occupies large portions of Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota. Wolf numbers in the three states have exceeded the numerical recovery criteria established in the species’ Recovery Plan for several years. In Minnesota, the population is estimated at 3,020. The estimated wolf population in Wisconsin is 465, and about 434 wolves are believed to inhabit Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, with an additional 30 wolves on Isle Royale.

The Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin Departments of Natural Resources have developed plans to guide wolf management actions in the future. The Service reviewed these plans and found they established a sufficient basis for long-term wolf management. Issues such as protective regulations, control of problem animals, possible hunting and trapping seasons, as well as long-term health of the wolf population, will be governed by the appropriate state or tribe.

However, the Service will monitor wolf populations in the Western Great Lakes DPS for a minimum of five years to ensure that delisting was not done prematurely. It won’t be until after this time period, and the USFWS confirms the wolves have not decline dramatically and are stable, will the states be allowed to fully manage the wolves via hunting, etc. according to their approved management plans.

The removal of Great Lakes’ wolves from the federal list of threatened and endangered species is not expected to go unchallenged by animal rights groups.

Ron Refsnider, Midwest Region endangered species listing coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Minneapolis, said four groups — the Humane Society of the United States, the Animal Protection Institute, Help Our Wolves Live, and the Minnesota Wolf Alliance — submitted a 60-day notice of their intent to sue Feb. 12.

On March 6, the Friends of Animals and Their Environment also sent a letter. Refsnider said since it came from the same attorney and has the same language, he expected the five groups would all be included on one lawsuit.

“They can file for an immediate injunction right now, and to be honest, I’m surprised they haven’t by now,” Refsnider said late Friday. “I didn’t think they would want the delisting to even take effect.”

Refsnider, who is preparing for an eventual lawsuit, said such suits are very costly to taxpayers.

“If the government loses, we have to pay attorney fees for the group that sues us,” Refsnider said. “But when we win, it’s extremely rare that we are awarded any of our costs. So (the animal rights groups) have nothing to lose.”

LINKS: Final Ruling by the USFWS | Official News Release | Green Bay Press Gazette

Entry Filed under: News and Stuff