State wildlife federation supports delisting wolves
The Wisconsin Wildlife Federation issued a statement Monday saying it strongly disagrees with a lawsuit being filed by the national Humane Society contesting the removal of the timber wolf in the Great Lakes states from the federal Threatened and Endangered Species Act.
Humane Society and other groups say it is premature to strip the wolves of federal protections. They say the wolf population has only returned to parts of the Great Lakes states, and the states need a sound management plan before the delisting.
The filing is the third time the Humane Society has challenged the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to delist the wolf and return the management of wolves back to the state Department of Natural Resources according to the federally approved state management plan.
Wisconsin removed the timber wolf from the state threatened and endangered species act three years ago. According to the 2008 DNR survey, there were 537 to 564 wolfs in the state.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said last month that the agency agreed with a decision made by the Bush administration to remove the wolf from the endangered species list in the western Great Lakes, including Wisconsin, and portions of the northern Rocky Mountains.
There are about 4,000 wolves in the Upper Midwest in portions of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
The wildlife federation said the lawsuits do not protect wolfs and interfere with federal efforts to protect other endangered species.