Great Lakes Wolves Win Ceasfire

Yellowstone wolf: US Park Service

At risk of being declared a suspect lone wolf, a federal judge has issued an order stopping the hunting and trapping of grey wolves (Canus lupus) in the Upper Midwest. Her ruling applies to wolves in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan--referred to as the Great Lakes population. Judge Beryl Howell said the removal of endangered species protection by the Obama Administration was arbitrary and capricious. One thousand five hundred ninety-nine wolves have been killed since the US Fish & Wildlife Service removed the Great Lake wolf population from the Endangered Species Act three years ago. Most of the animals killed were under two years of age. Younger, less experienced wolves are more likely to fall victum to man. Most were killed in Minnesota (923) the last state in the lower 48 to harbor a surviving population after the species was eradicated elsewhere as a pest.

The Service considers the Great Lakes wolf to have recovered from its persecution, but the agency is under pressure from development and agricultural interests to remove species from endangerment protections instead of adding to the number of species protected. Not an easy task as global warming radically alters ecosystems and puts more species at risk. The Service labled Judge Howell's ruling a "step backward"; the judge criticized state wildlife management bureaus for having no-limit areas on wolf hunting.  A number of seasons have also gone over quota. Thanks to legal protection and relocations there are an estimated 6,000 gray wolves in the lower 48 but dispersal has been fraught with danger for the top predator. The first wolf to reappear in Buchanan County, Iowa since 1925 was quickly killed as was the first wolf to return to the Grand Canyon. US Person agrees with the judge that the wolf is far from out of the woods.