Great Lakes Wolves Ordered Returned to Endangered List Dan Kraker / MPR News / December 19, 2014 A federal judge has ruled to restore federal endangered species protection to gray wolves in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. The decision from U.S. District Court Judge Beryl A. Howell returns management of wolves to the federal government, and immediately ends the trapping and hunting of wolves in the western Great Lakes states. The Humane Society of the United States and other animal welfare groups filed the suit last February. They argued the U.S. Fish and Wildlifes decision to remove the wolf from endangered species protection threatens the animals recovery in the Great Lakes region. More than 1,500 wolves have been killed since Minnesota and Wisconsin authorized hunting seasons in 2011, said Jonathan Lovvorn, chief counsel for animal protection litigation at the Humane Society. We are pleased that the court has recognized that the basis for the delisting decision was flawed, and would stop wolf recovery in its tracks, he added in a statement. The other plaintiffs in the suit include Born Free USA, Help Our Wolves Live and Friends of Animals and Their Environment. Its been more than 40 years since the federal government imposed protections to prevent wolves from going extinct in the lower 48 states. Since 2003 the federal government has tried four times to delist the wolf from the Endangered Species List in the Great Lakes region, arguing the wolf had recovered to sustainable levels. The first three attempts were blocked by lawsuits. The fourth attempt, in January 2012, succeeded, and Minnesota and the other states assumed management of the wolf populations. Minnesota has since held three wolf hunts. The late season just ended last week with the killing of 148 wolves, 22 more than the target amount. That prompted protests outside Department of Natural Resources headquarters in St. Paul. Minnesota DNR officials could not be reached for comment. But the agency has argued that the state can have a regulated hunting and trapping season and still assure that the wolf will continue to thrive in Minnesota. The latest population survey estimated 470 wolf packs and 2,423 wolves in the state, 212 more wolves than estimated last year.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 23:43:02 +0000
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