Great Lakes wolves return to endangered list A federal judge on Friday threw out an Obama administration decision to remove the gray wolf population in the western Great Lakes region from the endangered species list — a decision that will ban further wolf hunting and trapping in Michigan. The order — which also affects Minnesota and Wisconsin — protects a wolf population that is estimated at around 3,700. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service dropped federal protections from those wolves in 2012 and handed over management to the states. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C., ruled Friday the removal was arbitrary and capricious and violated the federal Endangered Species Act. Unless overturned, her decision will block the states from scheduling additional hunting and trapping seasons for the predators. All three have had at least one hunting season since protections were lifted, while Minnesota and Wisconsin also have allowed trapping. The nonprofit Keep Michigan Wolves Protected submitted more than 250,000 signatures to put a wolf-hunt proposal on the ballot, then nearly 200,000 signatures for a second proposal after the state Legislature and Gov. Rick Snyder enacted a law in May 2013 to override the first petition. But a pro-hunt group, Citizens for Professional Wildlife Management, made up of dozens of Michigan hunting organizations, gathered more than 374,000 signatures for its proposal affirming the states ability to manage game species for hunting.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 16:15:11 +0000
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