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Salazar Announces Recovery of Gray Wolves in the Western Great Lakes, Removal from Threatened and Endangered Species List
States, tribes to assume management responsibility.

USFWS Announces Recovery of Gray Wolves in the Western Great Lakes

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced that gray wolf populations in the Great Lakes region have recovered and no longer require the protection of the Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is publishing a final rule in the Federal Register removing wolves in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, and in portions of adjoining states, from the list of endangered and threatened wildlife and plants.

“Once again, the Endangered Species Act has proved to be an effective tool for bringing species back from the brink of extinction,” Secretary Salazar said. “Thanks to the work of our scientists, wildlife managers, and our state, tribal, and stakeholder partners, gray wolves in the western Great Lakes region are now fully recovered and healthy.”

The rule removing ESA protection for gray wolves in the western Great Lakes becomes effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.

“Gray wolves are thriving in the Great Lakes region, and their successful recovery is a testament to the hard work of the Service and our state and local partners,” said Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe. “We are confident state and tribal wildlife managers in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin will effectively manage healthy wolf populations now that federal protection is no longer needed.”

Wolves total more than 4,000 animals in the three core recovery states in the western Great Lakes area and have exceeded recovery goals. Minnesota’s population is estimated at 2,921 wolves, while an estimated 687 wolves live in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and another 782 in Wisconsin. Each state has developed a plan to manage wolves after federal protection is removed.

Wolf populations in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan will be monitored for at least five years to ensure the species continues to thrive. If it appears, at any time, that the gray wolf cannot sustain itself without the protections of the ESA, the Service can initiate the listing process, including emergency listing.

In the Service’s May 5, 2011, proposal to delist western Great Lakes wolves, the agency also proposed accepting recent taxonomic information that the gray wolf subspecies Canis lupus lycaon should be elevated to the full species Canis lycaon, and that the population of wolves in the Western Great Lakes is a mix of the two full species, Canis lupus and Canis lycaon. Based on substantial information received from scientists and others during the public comment period, the Service has re-evaluated that proposal, and the final rule considers all wolves in the Western Great Lakes DPS to be Canis lupus.

The Service also previously proposed delisting gray wolves in all or parts of 29 states in the eastern half of the United States. The Service continues to evaluate that portion of the May 5, 2011, proposal and will make a final separate determination at a later date.

Gray wolves were originally listed as subspecies or as regional populations of subspecies in the lower 48 states and Mexico under the ESA in 1973 and its predecessor statutes before that. In 1978, the Service reclassified the gray wolf as an endangered species across all of the lower 48 states and Mexico, except in Minnesota where the gray wolf was classified as threatened.

More information on the recovery of gray wolves in the Western Great Lakes can be found at www.fws.gov/midwest/wolf/

The ESA provides a critical safety net for America’s native fish, wildlife and plants. The Service works to actively engage conservation partners and the public in the search for improved and innovative ways to conserve and recover imperiled species.

To learn more about the Endangered Species Program, visit http://www.fws.gov/endangered/.

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The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.

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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Most snowy owls normally live year-round in the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other sites north of Alaska’s Brooks Range; a few overwinter in the Northern Plains and New England.

But this fall they are spreading across the United States in great numbers and turning heads. The nearly two-foot-tall, predominantly white owls – Harry Potter’s Hedwig is a snowy – are hard to miss.

Sharp-eyed folks at the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Washington state have reported sightings. Other sightings come from as far east as Parker River National Wildlife Refuge in Massachusetts and as far south as Kansas. Snowy owls have also been spotted in Connecticut, Maine, New York, Vermont, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and North Dakota.

Why do snowy owls sometimes fly south en masse? Snowy owls’ favorite prey is small rodents called lemmings, which are notorious for boom and bust population cycles. Biologists think the owls’ sudden upsurge south from the Arctic occurs when lemmings are in short supply. See a map of snowy owl sightings in the Lower 48, compiled this fall from reports on eBird and state bird listservs. (Check the map again in a few days, and see how sightings have multiplied.)

Snowy Owl, Newburyport, MA, 28 November 2011. Photograph by Ryan Schain.

Unlike many other owls, snowy owls are active in the daytime. They tend to perch at high points overlooking open sites such as beaches and airports. Exhausted from their long flights, some starve if prey is scarce.

Read more about refuge sightings of snowy owls on the Refuge System’s Facebook page. Katie Brashear Koch wrote recently, “We had an adult female at the USFWS Marquette Biological Station in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula this morning!”

She took a photo of it perched on a power pole. She added that there have been sightings of the owls across the Upper Peninsula for the past two weeks, with each day seeming to bring more.

See the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for additional information on snowy owls.

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals, and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov. Connect with our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/usfws, follow our tweets at www.twitter.com/usfwshq, watch our YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/usfws and download photos from our Flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwshq

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