Appeals court upholds endangered species protection for Great Lakes gray wolves

USA TODAY NETWORKKeith Matheny, Detroit Free Press
Published 6:07 p.m. ET Aug. 2, 2017



DETROIT — Great Lakes gray wolves dodged another bullet this week — in a federal court in Washington.

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday affirmed a 2014 lower-court ruling that restored Endangered Species Act protection for gray wolves in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. That means the status quo of the past three years, disallowing hunting of Great Lakes wolves, holds.

It's the latest chapter in a back-and-forth over the more than 600 wolves populating Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and even larger populations in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Many sportsmen see Great Lakes gray wolves as a recovered species that must be managed — through hunting — to limit depredation of livestock, dangerous encounters with people and dogs, and undesirable reductions in the number of deer. But many other Michigan residents — including those who rejected wolf hunting in 2014 ballot measures — say it would be an unnecessary sport-hunt of a species that isn't out of the woods yet on its recovery.

More:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/08/02/appeals-court-upholds-endangered-species-protection-great-lakes-gray-wolves/534783001/