Gray wolves in the Western Great Lakes Distinct Population Segment were removed from the federal list of endangered and threatened species on Mar. 12, 2007. Once a species is removed from Endangered Species Act protection, one safeguard to help ensure it continues to thrive is a mandatory five-year monitoring period. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has developed a draft plan to monitor gray wolves for the next five years and is seeking public comments on this draft plan.
The draft plan is available online at: http://midwest.fws.gov/wolf
You can also receive an electronic or paper copy by faxing 612-713-5292; by e-mailing your request to graywolfPDM@fws.gov; or, by writing to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Gray Wolf PDM, Federal Building, 1 Federal Drive, Ft. Snelling, MN 55111.
Comments can be submitted several ways:
) Via e-mail to graywolfPDM@fws.gov; include “Wolf PDM Plan Comments” in the subject line.2) Via fax to 612-713-5292; include “Wolf PDM Plan Comments” in the subject line.
) Via U.S. Mail to Wolf PDM Plan Comments, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Federal Building, 1 Federal Drive, Ft. Snelling, MN 55111-4056.
4) Or, in person in room 646 at the address above.
For comments to be considered during the development of a final monitoring plan, they must be received on or before July 5, 2007.
The Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin Departments of Natural Resources have developed plans to guide future wolf management actions. Protection of wolves, control of problem animals, consideration of future public hunting and trapping, as well as maintenance of the long-term health of the wolf population is now the responsibility of the appropriate state or tribe.
The Service also has the ability to immediately relist a species on an emergency basis, if monitoring or other data collected during this five-year monitoring period show that is necessary to prevent a significant risk to the well being of Midwestern wolves.
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 547 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.
