Great Lakes Wolves Back on Endangered Species List

Gray wolves in the Western Great Lakes area, including the states of Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin, have exceeded recovery goals and continue to thrive under state management, the plaintiff conservation groups agree.

However, under the settlement, the Service agrees with plaintiffs that additional public review and comment was required by federal law before making a final decision to delist Great Lakes wolves.

This is the sixth time in the past five years that a federal government decision to strip wolves of Endangered Species Act protections has been stopped through legal action, but the settlement does not prevent the administration from making another attempt to delist wolves and turn their management over to the states.

In June, the "Milwaukee Journal Sentinel" reported that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources intends to implement sport hunting and trapping seasons for wolves if they are ever stripped of federal Endangered Species Act protection. The management plans for Minnesota and Michigan also allow for the establishment of future recreational hunting and trapping of wolves.

Wolf in Minnesota (Photo by Galenfry Singer)

"We applaud the Obama administration for restoring federal protections for wolves in the Great Lakes," said Jonathan Lovvorn, vice president and chief counsel for animal protection litigation with the Humane Society of the United States, lead plaintiff in the case.

"This agreement will give the administration a much-needed opportunity to reconsider the failed wolf-management policies of the past, and hopefully put to rest the states' reckless plans to start sport hunting and trapping imperiled wolves," Lovvorn said.

However, the Service is beginning the delisting process again for Great Lakes wolves, and anticipates opening public comment in winter or spring 2010.

Michael Robinson with the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the plaintiff groups, says if the Service again proposes stripping these wolves of federal protection the groups are "very likely to challenge that again in court."

The case was first brought by the Humane Society, the Center for Biological Diversity, Help Our Wolves Live, Friends of Animals and Their Environment and Born Free USA after the Service published a final rule in February 2007 simultaneously designating the Western Great Lakes populations of gray wolves as a Distinct Population Segment and removing that segment from the Endangered Species List.

On September 29, 2008, the federal district court for the District of Columbia vacated that final rule and sent the issue back to the Service for further action.

Without providing notice or an opportunity for public comment, on April 2, 2009, the Service published another final rule identical to the first, vacated, rule.

On June 15, 2009, the plaintiff conservation groups filed a motion for an injuction to block that rule, alleging that the Service violated the notice and comment requirement of the Administrative Procedures Act, the ESA's best available science requirement and the court's September 2008 order.

On July 2, the groups and the Service agreed on a settlement after the Service conceded that they erred by not providing notice and a public comment period.

Now, while the Service gathers additional public comment, gray wolves in the Western Great Lakes area will again be protected under the Endangered Species Act.

All restrictions and requirements in place under the Act prior to the delisting are reinstated. In Minnesota, gray wolves will be considered threatened; elsewhere in the region, gray wolves will be designated as endangered. The Service will continue to work with states and tribes to address wolf management issues while Western Great Lakes gray wolves remain under the protection of the Act.

"The court's decision is great news for wolves and for the integrity of science in government decision-making," said Nicole Paquette, senior vice president of Born Free USA. "We hope that the Fish and Wildlife Service will honestly assess the scientific information it previously refused to review."

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says that currently, Minnesota's population of more than 2,900 wolves is second only to that of Alaska and exceeds the federal delisting goal of 1,251 to 1,400. Minnesota's wolves occupy nearly all of the suitable areas in the state. Minnesota has one of the highest wolf densities recorded anywhere, and the population has remained stable for nearly 10 years.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources says, "The comeback of the gray wolf in Michigan is a remarkable wildlife success story. Estimated at 20 animals in 1992, Michigan's gray wolf population has grown to at least 520 animals in 2008, and the 2008-2009 winter count is expected to be even higher."

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says that although wolf populations fluctuate from year to year it is estimated that over 500 wolves exist in the state, adding that, "While the rebounding wolf population is an ecological success story, it creates problems and challenges for farmers and ranchers who suffer losses and must find ways to protect livestock from these adaptable predators."

"Poaching and persecution remain severe threats to wolves in the upper Midwest and elsewhere," said Robinson. "Wolf recovery has made tremendous strides, but with wolves occupying roughly five percent of their historic range, the job is far from finished."

Copyright Environment News Service, ENS, 2009. All rights reserved.