Wolves No Longer Federally Protected

Written By: ECJ Staff  |  Posted: Monday, January 16th, 2012

            Starting in January, the Gray Wolf, which has been Federally protected in Wisconsin since 1978, will no longer be listed as endangered or threatened on the Endangered Species Act.  This will allow states in the Great Lakes region to manage the population as long as they don't become threatened or endangered again.

            For the last 30 years the wolf population, which had been zero for decades, steadily grew above the 100 wolf goal of the Federal government and the 350 wolf goal of the Wisconsin DNR to reach the current population of 782 (minus the seven shot last November).  As the wolf population grew and started encroaching on urban areas and livestock, tensions grew between residents who desired less wolves or none at all, environmentalists who considered the animal to be an essential part of the ecosystem of northern Wisconsin, and wolves who can't talk because they are animals, not people.

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