Contacts
Georgia Parham, 812-332-4261, x203
Laura Ragan, 612-713-5350
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has scheduled nine public
hearings in Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin to give the public opportunity
to comment on a proposal to delist gray wolves in the Eastern Distinct Population
Segment (DPS).
These public hearings follow a national announcement made on
July 16 proposing the delisting of gray wolves in the Eastern DPS. The Eastern
DPS extends from the Dakotas, Nebraska and Kansas to the East Coast. The
southern boundary includes Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania
and New Jersey, and its northern boundary is the Canadian border.
When it proposed delisting gray wolves in the eastern United
States, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service noted that wolves in the Eastern
DPS have climbed beyond population criteria set out in the species’ recovery
plan. Further, the eastern states with gray wolf populations – Minnesota,
Michigan and Wisconsin – have management plans in place to ensure the
species’ long-term survival.
All public hearings will consist of an informational open house
beginning at 6:30 p.m., followed by a presentation on the proposal, a question
and answer session, and then the official public hearing.
The Service will hold the nine public hearings on the following
dates and locations:
Minnesota
Bemidji, MN, on August 31, 2004, at Bemidji State University,
Beaux Arts Ballroom--Hobson Memorial Union, 1500 Birchmont Drive NE
Virginia, MN, on September 1, 2004, at the Mesabi Range Community
College, F100—Fine Arts Theater, 1001 Chestnut Street West
Bloomington, MN, on October 6, 2004, at the Minnesota Valley
National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center, 3815 American Blvd. East
Michigan
Marquette, MI, on September 13, 2004, at Northern Michigan
University, Explorer Room, Don Bottum Conference Center, 540 West Kaye
Avenue (park in lot #8)
Sault Ste. Marie, MI, on September 14, 2004, at Lake Superior
State University, Cisler Center, Ontario Room, 650 West Easterday Avenue
(park in lots A, B, E, J, or X after 5 p.m.)
East Lansing, MI, on September 15, 2004, at Michigan State
University, BioMedical and Physical Science Building—Auditorium,
corner of Wilson and Farm Lane (parking allowed in staff or faculty spaces
after 6 p.m.)
Wisconsin
Madison, WI, on September 27, 2004, at the University of
Wisconsin Union South, 227 North Randall Avenue
Wausau, WI, on September 28, 2004, at the Westwood Conference
Center, Westwood Conference Room, 1800 West Bridge Street
Ashland, WI, on September 29, 2004, at the Northern Great
Lakes Center, 29270 County Highway G.
For more information on the gray wolf Eastern DPS delisting
proposal, see the Service’s gray wolf web site at http://midwest.fws.gov/wolf
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal
agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife
and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American
people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge
System, which encompasses 544 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small
wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national
fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services
field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the
Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally
significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands,
and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation
efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes
hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment
to state fish and wildlife agencies.
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