US Fish and Wildlife Services Delists Grey Wolves from the Endangered Species List

The US Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that it is removing the Western Great Lakes population the Grey Wolf from the list of threatened and endangered species, and it is proposing the removal of the Northern Rocky Mountain population in the near future. The FWS cites the success of the recovery efforts that have lead to the increase in wolf numbers in the Midwest and Western Rockies as the reason for the removal and thus the protection of the Endangered Species Act.

Deputy Secretary of the Interior states that "Wolves have recovered in the western Great Lakes because efforts to save them from extinction have been a model of cooperation, flexibility, and hard work." She claims that the same goes for the wolves in the Northern Rockies, which have come to "exceed their recovery goals to the point where they are biologically ready to be delisted."

However, not everyone supports the delisting of the grey wolf. The Center for Biological Diversity claims that "Delisting wolves over vast areas to allow the livestock industry and its patrons in government to massacre wolves is blatantly illegal," said Michael Robinson. "These beautiful, intelligent animals should be given the chance to survive."

The Great Lakes Wolves are not sparking quite the controversy that the Western wolves are, as the Great Lake States in play, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota have all put approved recovery plans into place on the state and regional level. However, the Western Rockies population is threatened by the states that make up that region, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Wyoming's recovery plan has been rejected by the FWS as inadequate to protect the wolves. There is also a question as to how wolves will be classified, and if they are classified as predators, they can be shot on site.

The grey wolf, also known as the Eastern Timber Wolf, was declared endangered in 1974, and at that time numbered about 300 animals in Minnesota and Isle Royale, Michigan. Under the strict protection afforded the wolf by the ESA, the grey wolf has made a comeback that is seen as a success story in conservation in this country.

There are several safeguards that come into play once a species is removed from the threatened and endangered list. In the Great Lakes region, hunting will be prohibited for five years. The FWS also retains the right to re-list the species on an emergency basis if necessary during its five year monitoring period.

A major contention that environmental groups have with the proposed delisting of the Northern Rockies grey wolves is that once the wolf is delisted "trophy" hunting will be allowed, as the western states promote big game hunting as a draw for tourism. Also, due to the open range nature of ranching out west, the presence of the grey wolf may be seen as a threat to livestock, and therefore run the risk of being shot on sight.