Grey wolf to be removed from the ESA
Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 2:47 pm
Ending protection of timber wolves pleases DNR
By RON SEELY Wisconsin State Journal
Wildlife experts in Wisconsin Wednesday praised the decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the timber wolf from federal protection under the Endangered Species Act.
Delisting the wolf will make it easier for the state Department of Natural Resources to manage the state's growing wolf population, according to DNR officials.
The agency announced Wednesday that it intends to delist both the western Great Lakes and the northern Rocky Mountain populations from protected status. The plan comes after a previous delisting was successfully challenged in federal court by the Humane Society.
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announcement
Rather than appeal the federal court ruling, the agency rewrote the delisting rules this time to address the problems raised in the court decision. The new status for the wolves will take effect 30 days after the publication of the rules, which is expected in about a month.
Wisconsin has more than 500 wolves compared to a population that had dropped to nearly zero by the late 1950s. The DNR started a wolf recovery program in the 1980s that has seen wolves repopulate the state, moving in mostly from Minnesota. The total wolf population in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan now numbers about 4,000.
Matt Frank, DNR secretary, said the agency "strongly supports" delisting. When wolves are removed from federal protected status, the agency will be able to kill predating wolves and even issue licenses to landowners who can also kill problem animals, such as those attacking livestock. Control efforts are necessary to sustain support for continued wolf recovery in the state, agency officials said.
The Fish and Wildlife Service will continue to monitor the delisted wolf populations for five years to ensure populations remain healthy.