Gray Wolves Delisted in Western Great Lakes Distinct Population Segment

 

Photo by Corel Corporation

The Final Rule to remove Endangered Species Act protection for gray wolves in the Western Great Lakes Distinct Population Segment (DPS) was published in the Federal Register on December 28, 2011. The Rule will take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register - January 27, 2012. This rule provides the Service’s final decision on a proposal that was published in the Federal Register on May 5, 2011.

 

The Service made two substantive changes from the May 2011 proposal. First, the Service is separating a decision on whether to delist the Western Great Lakes DPS from a decision on whether to delist all or portions of the 29 eastern states considered to be outside the historical range of the gray wolf. This rule finalizes the Service’s decision for the Western Great Lakes DPS. A subsequent decision will be made for the rest of the eastern United States. Secondly, the Service is not changing its recognition of the taxonomy of wolves in the Western Great Lakes. In this final rule, the Service considers all wolves in the Western Great Lakes DPS to be gray wolves (Canis lupus) and are delisting them as such.

 

News Release: Salazar Announces Recovery of Gray Wolves in the Western Great Lakes, Removal from Threatened and Endangered Species List: States, tribes to assume management responsibility (December 21, 2011)

 

Questions and Answers: Final Decision to Delist Wolves in the Western Great Lakes

 

USFWS Role After Delisting

 

Federal Register Final Rule: Final Rule To Revise the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife for the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) in the Western Great Lakes

 

Map: Western Great Lakes Distinct Population Segment

 

Literature Cited in the Final Rule to Delist the Gray Wolf Western Great Lakes DPS

 

Summaries of State Wolf Management Plans

 

Gray Wolf Information

 

Endangered Species Act Status of Gray Wolves in the lower 48 states

 

Wolf Numbers in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan (excluding Isle Royale) - 1976 to 2010

 

Gray Wolf Range Expansion in Minnesota

 

Gray Wolf Recovery in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan

 

Gray Wolf Population in the United States

 

Wolf Biology Questions and Answers

 

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