News

Fish & Wildlife will try again to delist the gray wolf

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is going to try again to take the gray wolf off the Endangered Species list in Wisconsin and Michigan and off the threatened list in Minnesota. Back in September the Service launched a 90-day review of the status of the gray wolf at the request from the states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota. The wolf was removed from the federal lists in 2007 and management was turned over to the individual states however they were placed back on the list in 2008 as part of a lawsuit settlement.

The petitions were submitted by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Sportsmen’s Alliance, and Safari Club International with the National Rifle Association. Information was gathered from state and federal natural resource agencies and all interested parties including public comments. Based upon that input, the Service has decided to proceed with delisting the gray wolf.

The U.S. Department of the Interior says as of the end of last year, there were 580 wolves in Upper Michigan, 690 in Wisconsin and 2,922 in Minnesota. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Secretary, Matt Frank says the number of wolves in his state is now more than 700 “nearly twice the level prescribed by the Wisconsin Wolf Management Plan.” Frank adds that with the growth of the wolf population in his state, “problems with wolves killing valuable livestock and hunting dogs have grown to intolerable levels.”