Gray wolves to return to endangered species list
The Obama administration had ordered a review of the decision to remove the wolf from the endangered species list.
Minnesota’s gray wolves will return to the endangered species list under a settlement today between the U.S. government and several groups that fought to return the wolves to the list.
In March, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar upheld a decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the species from the endangered species list in the state. The Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that gray wolves number about 4,000 in northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, and no longer needed federal help.
The Obama administration had ordered a review of the decision. Salazar previously said he had concluded that dropping the wolf from the list was justified by its strong comeback in two parts of the nation, including the Upper Midwest.
Today’s settlement involved groups including the Humane Society of the United States and the Center for Biological Diversity.