Feds plan anew to take gray wolf off endangered species list in Western Great Lakes states

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to make another attempt to remove the gray wolf from the endangered-species list in Wisconsin and Michigan and from the threatened list in Minnesota, at the request of the three states and sportsmen's groups, Bob Meyer reports for Brownfield Network. "The wolf was removed from the federal lists in 2007 and management was turned over to the individual states," Meyer notes. "They were placed back on the list in 2008 as part of a lawsuit settlement." (USFWS photo)

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Secretary Matt Frank said his state has more than 700 wolves, “nearly twice the level prescribed by the Wisconsin Wolf Management Plan,” and “Problems with wolves killing valuable livestock and hunting dogs have grown to intolerable levels.” For the service's Web page on the gray wolf in the region, go here.