MARQUETTE - Michigan Department of Natural Resources officials are applauding a recent decision by U.S. Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar to agree to take gray wolves in the Western Great Lakes Region off the federal threatened and endangered species list.
The move affirms a decision made in the waning days of the Bush Administration, which has been studied by officials working in the Obama Administration.
The delisting will take effect 30 days after the action is published in The Federal Register. The order will also apply to some wolves located in the western Rocky Mountains.
"Gray wolves have made a strong and successful recovery in our state," DNR Director Rebecca Humphries said. "This decision will allow management of the species to be performed by the state, so that we can fully implement the state's wolf management plan."
Brian Roell, the DNR's Michigan wolf management coordinator who works at the Marquette office, said he's glad about the upcoming delisting action.
However, he said he's concerned the future social carrying capacity - the level of tolerance humans maintain for wolves - will tilt against wolves with lawmakers and courts going back-and-forth on whether to allow delisting of the animal to occur.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service previously decided to delist wolves in some places, including the Great Lakes. That decision was blocked by a lawsuit. The FWS addressed concerns by the judge and again decided to delist the species, just as Bush was leaving office.
Obama decided to put the delisting on hold until it could be reviewed by his administration. Opposition groups, including the Human Society of the United States, have already threatened lawsuits to block the upcoming wolf delisting.
"I think this on-again, off-again thing is not good for wolves," Roell said.
The delisting will put the state's wolf management plan in effect, which was created over the past few years with the aid of a diverse advisory panel consisting of hunters, trappers, environmentalists and Native Americans.
In 2008, a minimum of 520 gray wolves lived in the Upper Peninsula, part of an estimated population of 4,000 gray wolves living in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Humphries emphasized that while the gray wolf will be removed from the federal endangered species list, it remains under the state's protection. The gray wolf is listed as a threatened species in Michigan, but its status will change on April 22.
"The state of Michigan is removing (wolves) from the state threatened species list," Roell said.
Under that legislative action taking wolves off the state threatened list, they must be given a state designation. Roell said they will be categorized as a non-game protected species.
Many hunters, trappers and others believe there should be hunting or trapping seasons on wolves established to help deer herds, keep wolf numbers from exploding and keep the social support in place for the species.
Future state legislative action could move wolves to a game species classification. But then still further lawmaker action would be required to set a hunting or trapping season before the DNR could develop bag limits and other regulations for harvesting the species.
"The population certainly can handle a limited harvest," Roell said. "My fear is that it will take a long time to get to that point."
Roell said he believes if a hunting or trapping season is eventually established by the state Legislature, a statewide ballot initiative may be mounted reminiscent of the drive that stopped plans to allow mourning dove hunting in Michigan.
Wolves could reach the status of game species, but without a harvest established by lawmakers. Another animal in that category is moose.
State delisting will allow two orders set last year by Gov. Jennifer Granholm to be enacted. Those rules allow members of the public to use lethal force against wolves if wolves are caught in the act of preying on pets or livestock. The DNR would subsequently investigate each of those claims, Roell said.
Under federal delisting, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will monitor the delisted wolf populations for a minimum of five years to ensure that they continue to sustain their recovery. At the end of the monitoring period, the FWS will decide if relisting, continued monitoring or ending monitoring is appropriate.
For more information about the gray wolf in Michigan, visit the DNR Web site at www.michigan.gov/dnr and click on the "Wildlife & Habitat" menu.