Wildlife Services, a program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the Interior Department’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have adopted measures that will help protect pets and livestock from problem wolves in Michigan. The measures are outlined in a final Environmental Assessment developed by the two agencies. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission were consulting agencies on the EA.
The measures approved by the agencies are an integrated approach to reduce problems with wolves, including both lethal and non-lethal measures to address wolf damage problems on private and public lands in Michigan. A full range of legal and effective methods will be used to address problems with wolves while minimizing harm to other wildlife, humans, the general wolf population, and the environment.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service signed a permit that provides for full implementation of the integrated management program allowing control or removal of depredating wolves. The permit is issued to the State of Michigan; control actions will be carried out by the State of Michigan and Wildlife Services, acting as an agent for the state.
Gray wolves in Michigan are listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act; they are classified as threatened under Michigan state law. Permits for the management of federally listed endangered species are provided for under the ESA.
The EA examined a range of options for addressing the problem of wolf damage in Michigan, including the selected alternative which allows for management of wolves associated with attacks on livestock and pets. Other alternatives examined in the EA include a program using only non-lethal control methods; a program that limits federal agencies to providing technical assistance; and an alternative with no federal involvement in wolf damage management in Michigan.
A Set of Findings, Decision and Finding of No Significant Impact, Biological Opinion, a copy of the permit, and the final EA, which includes public comments on the draft EA and responses (Chapter 6) can all be viewed at http://www.fws.gov/midwest/wolf. Printed copies of the final EA and Decision can also be obtained from Wildlife Services at 2803 Jolly Road, Suite 100, Okemos, MI 48864 (517) 336-1928.
Gray wolves in Michigan are protected by the ESA, which prohibits “take” “take”
The term “take” means to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct.
Learn more about “take” (killing, harming) of listed animals except under specific circumstances. Permits authorizing removal of problem wolves are provided for under the ESA when these actions are needed for scientific purposes or to enhance survival of a listed species’ population. Allowing removal of problem wolves helps ensure that illegal killing of gray wolves is minimized, and public tolerance of wolves in general is maintained.
In March 2006, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed removing gray wolves in the Western Great Lakes Distinct Population Segment – which includes Michigan – from the federal list of endangered and threatened species. Wolves in this part of the country have exceeded state and federal recovery goals for several years.
For more information on gray wolves in Michigan and other upper Midwest states, visit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website at http://www.fws.gov/midwest/ , the Wildlife Services program at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ws or the Michigan Department of Natural Resources at www.michigan.gov/dnr.
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 545 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.
