A report out of Wisconsin indicates the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is determining whether to remove the gray wolf population in the Upper Midwest from the Endangered Species Act.
“If appropriate, the Service will publish a proposal to revise the wolf’s status in the Federal Register by the end of the calendar year,” Georgia Parham, USFWS spokeswoman, told Wisconsin Public Radio. “Any proposal will follow a robust, transparent and open public process that will provide opportunity for public comment.”
Citing robust populations, the USFWS delisted wolves in the Great Lakes region in 2011 only to have a judge overturn the move in 2014.
“Unfortunately, the delisting of wolves in the western Great Lakes region was successfully overturned by the courts, which prevented the Service from moving forward with the full delisting proposal at that time,” Parham told Wisconsin Public Radio.
Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin all have wolf populations well above their respective state wolf management plans.
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation maintains that wolves should be managed by state agencies just as they manage elk, mountain lions, deer, bears and other wildlife.
(Photo source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)