Some gray wolves to be returned to endangered list
Source: Associated Press
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) A federal judge on Friday threw out an Obama administration decision to remove gray wolves in the western Great Lakes region from the endangered species list a decision that will ban further wolf hunting and trapping in three states.
The order affects wolves in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, where the combined population is estimated at around 3,700. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service dropped federal protections from those wolves in 2012 and handed over management to the states.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C., ruled Friday the removal was "arbitrary and capricious" and violated the federal Endangered Species Act.
Unless overturned, her decision will block the states from scheduling additional hunting and trapping seasons for the predators. All three have had at least one hunting season since protections were lifted, while Minnesota and Wisconsin also have allowed trapping. More than 1,500 Great Lakes wolves have been killed, said Jonathan Lovvorn, senior vice president of the Humane Society of the United States, which filed a lawsuit that prompted Howell's ruling.
Read more: http://www.kboi2.com/news/local/Some-gray-wolves-to-be-returned-to-endangered-list-286419001.html
villager
(26,001 posts)If I wanted wolf-killers making environmental decisions, I'd vote for Republicans.
Or, you know, Republicans who call themselves "Republicans."
Major Hogwash
(17,656 posts)The Governor blames them for the local drought, or some other such nonsense.
Lulu KC
(2,574 posts)montanacowboy
(6,101 posts)but this is far from over I am afraid