The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is hosting a public hearing to take comments on the agency’s proposal to remove the gray wolf from the federal endangered species list Tuesday in Brainerd.
The hearing will be held from 6:30-9 p.m. at the Franklin Arts Center Auditorium, 1001 Kingwood St. It’s the only meeting on the proposed delisting in the Upper Midwest.
The public has until July 15 to comment on the plan to remove federal protections for wolves across the Great Lakes region and other areas where they might roam.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says wolves have recovered enough to be taken off the endangered list, leaving management to individual states and tribes. Critics say state resource agencies are too aggressive at allowing wolves to be trapped and hunted.
Earlier this month a panel of five wildlife experts who independently reviewed the federal wolf plan for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service widely panned the proposal, saying it is not based in science and downplays potential illegal killing of wolves.
For more information, or to comment on the plan, go to www.fws.gov/home/wolfrecovery/.
Source: https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/incoming/2711650-Field-reports