Final: Feds to delist Great Lakes wolves

The U.S government formally announced its move to end federal wolf protection in the western Great Lakes region by the end of the year. The move was reported last month but was finalized by top Interior Department officials as they took formal action on Wednesday. They said that management of the animals should be handed back to state and tribal governments.

According to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, wolves in Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin have biologically recovered from the brink of extinction and “no longer need the protection of the Endangered Species Act.” He called the resurgence of wolves a great success story of the act and “a remarkable milestone for an iconic American species.”

After three failed efforts to delist Great Lakes wolves over the past decade, all held up by court action, the government this time is trying a new twist — declaring gray wolves in the region a separate species from eastern wolves.

The federal government will examine the status of eastern wolves, and determine what — if anything — should be done to restore that species across eastern states, where it no longer exists. The result of that status review could stall the delisting effort if the “new” eastern wolf is found in need of protections because the two species are nearly impossible to tell apart without DNA analysis.

Meanwhile, the government published a final regulation ending wolf protection across much of the western U.S. based on legislation approved by Congress and signed by President Obama last month. Wolves will lose federal protection starting Thursday, May 5, across the northern Rocky Mountains, with wolf management handed back to states and tribes. The lone exception is Wyoming, where federal protections will remain until the state has passed a wolf-management plan that’s protective enough for federal regulators.