Gray wolves delisted in Western Great Lakes area
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Region External Affairs Office in Ft. Snelling, Minn., after decades of work by states, tribes, conservation groups and the federal government to reverse the decline toward extinction of the gray wolf, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has determined the species in the Western Great Lakes have recovered. The agency has removed gray wolves in this region from protection under the federal Endangered Species Act.
The final rule delisting gray wolves in the Western Great Lakes area became effective this past Monday, March 12.
According to Robyn Thorson, the Services Midwest Regional Director, wolves are back in this part of the country because a broad spectrum of people approached the task of recovery as a common goal and every partner played a part in achieving this success. The states of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, members of tribes, a number of conservation organizations and the citizens of these states are to be commended all are authors of this historic conservation success story.
Thorson pointed out a variety of efforts that led to recovery of the wolf in the Western Great Lakes, including protection under the Endangered Species Act and increased public knowledge of the gray wolf and its role in the ecosystem.
Thorson said the removal of these wolves from the endangered species list ends federal direction of the recovery effort. With robust wolf populations and sound management plans in place in the three states and tribes assuming lead responsibility for the future of the species, we have turned the corner and moved beyond wolf recovery to the new challenge of long-term wolf management.
The Fish and Wildlife Services removal of the gray wolf from the endangered and threatened species list applies to the Western Great Lakes District Population Segment (DPS). This area includes the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan as well as parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.
The DPS includes all the areas currently occupied by wolf packs in Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as nearby areas in these states in which packs may become established in the future. The DPS also includes surrounding areas into which wolves may disperse but are not likely to establish packs.
Rebounding from a few hundred wolves in Minnesota in the 1970s when listed as endangered, the regions gray wolf population now numbers about 4,000 and occupies large portions of Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota. Wolf numbers in the three states have exceeded the numerical recovery criteria established in the species recovery plan for several years.
In Minnesota, the population is estimated at 3,020. The estimated wolf population is Wisconsin is estimated to be 465 and about 434 wolves are believed to inhabit Michigans Upper Peninsula, with an additional 30 wolves on Isle Royale.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will monitor wolf populations in the Western Great Lakes DPS for a minimum of five years to ensure that delisting was not done prematurely. A post-delisting monitoring plan is being developed, focusing on three areas: gray wolf populations, threats to species, and mechanisms in place to reduce threats.
Monitoring primarily would be conducted in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan the core wolf recovery area. At the end of the monitoring period, the service will decide if relisting, continued monitoring, or ending service monitoring is appropriate. If warranted (for example, data show a significant decline or increased threat), the service will consider continuing monitoring beyond the specified time.