State, tribal, federal and private partners who worked to recover the gray wolf in Minnesota and the Great Lakes gathered today to celebrate the turnover of management from federal hands to states and tribes. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently removed the gray wolf in the Western Great Lakes from the list of endangered and threatened species.
“Today, we celebrate the handing over of the reins of wolf management to state and tribal leaders, and to many, that is one of the most important benefits of recovery,” said Robyn Thorson, Regional Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “The citizens of Minnesota will now make the decisions that shape wolf management in their state.”
Thorson was joined by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Mark Holsten in recognizing the historic conservation achievement and the new chapter in Minnesota wolf management.
“The recovery of the wolf in the Great Lakes States is a true conservation success story. As a result, we support the federal governments continuing efforts to delist the gray wolf from endangered species protection. We look forward to implementing our Minnesota Wolf Management Plan,” Holsten said.
Others marking the turnover included Jim Zorn, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission; Bill Paul, U.S. Department of Agriculture/Wildlife Services and member of the recovery team; and Mary Ortiz, International Wolf Center. Also attending were Vicki Tigwell, State Director for U.S. Senator Norm Coleman and Minnesota Senator Ellen Anderson.
Rebounding from a few hundred wolves in Minnesota in the 1970s when listed as endangered, the Great Lakes region’s gray wolf population now numbers nearly 4,000 and occupies portions of Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota. Wolf numbers in the three states have exceeded the numerical recovery criteria established in the species’ recovery plan for several years. In Minnesota, the population is estimated at 3,020. The estimated wolf population in Wisconsin is 465, and about 434 wolves are believed to inhabit Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
In 2001, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources completed its comprehensive wolf management plan, which is based on the recommendations of a wolf management roundtable and on a state wolf management law passed in 2000. The plan includes provisions for population monitoring and management, management of problem wolves, management of wolf habitat and prey, enforcement of laws restricting take of wolves, public education, and increased staffing for wolf management and research.
The Service, as required under the Endangered Species Act, will monitor gray wolf populations in the Great Lakes area for the next 5 years under its recently released Gray Wolf Post-Delisting Monitoring Plan. Information on the monitoring plan is available at http://www.fws.gov/midwest/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 96 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.
