Time to stop protecting gray wolves, Bart says

NEWS RELEASE

CONGRESSMAN BART STUPAK 1ST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN

************************* Stupak urges delisting Michigan gray wolf population

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) has urged the U.S. Department of the Interior to delist the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and complete the transition back to state management.

In a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Stupak noted that estimates from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) place the gray wolf population in Michigan at approximately 580 wolves in 2009, demonstrating a sustained recovery of the gray wolf, which in 1960 had been virtually eliminated from northern Michigan.

“The Endangered Species Act has accomplished its purpose, bringing Michigan’s gray wolf population back from near-extinction to sustainable population levels,” Stupak said. “Given this recovery, it is time to remove the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act and allow the State of Michigan to implement a plan to better meet the needs of northern Michigan.”

There were approximately 20 gray wolves in the Upper Peninsula in 1992, but by 2009 the population had reached as many as 580 wolves.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, gray wolves in northern Michigan and across the Western Great Lakes region have met legal requirements necessary for delisting.

The gray wolf was originally delisted from the Western Great Lakes region in March 2007.

Since that time the gray wolf delisting has been challenged by several lawsuits, most recently in September 2009.

Following that ruling, protections for the gray wolf in the Western Great Lakes were reinstated for a third time.

Both the Bush and Obama administrations have supported decisions to delist the Western Great Lakes gray wolves.

The State of Michigan released its wolf management plan in 2007, following the original decision to delist the gray wolf.

This plan includes strategies to improve public awareness to help livestock producers minimize risks of wolf attacks and maintain sustainable habitats for wolf populations.

DNRE would be required to continue conducting yearly surveys of wolf populations in northern Michigan and ESA protections could be reinstated if the population decreases.

“The criteria for delisting the gray wolf in Michigan has been met for several years now and it is past time to transfer the management of northern Michigan’s wolf population from the federal government back to the state of Michigan,” Stupak said. “There must be a balance between maintaining gray wolf populations and the needs of northern Michigan’s landowners. The state, not the federal government, is best qualified to maintain this balance and I urge the prompt delisting of the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act.”

A copy of the letter to Secretary Salazar can be found here.

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