Feds delist gray wolf in Great Lakes region

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said today it is ending federal protections for wolves across the Great Lakes region.

The agency’s official notice will be filed Dec. 28 in the Federal Register and will take effect Jan. 28 when management of wolves in the region will be put back in the hands of state and tribal resource agencies.

In a statement, Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe said, “Gray wolves are thriving in the Great Lakes region. We are confident state and tribal wildlife managers in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin will effectively manage healthy wolf populations now that federal protection is no longer needed.”

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who is a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said returning wolf management to the states will help restore balance to state natural habitats, while keeping Minnesota’s livestock, pets and residents safe.

Wolves have been protected in the region since 1974 when only about 500 remained, all of the in the Superior National Forest. Now, more than 4,000 wolves are estimated to roam across the region, with some 3,000 in Minnesota and more than 700 each in Wisconsin and on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.