FWS announced new National Wolf Recovery Plans will not change the listing status in the state for now.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is aware of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) proposal, announced, to focus on a National Wolf Recovery Plan. DNR said this announcement will not change the listing status, and wolves in Wisconsin will remain on the federal endangered species list.

However, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, after an extensive peer-reviewed assessment using the best available science, the Service announced a not-warranted finding today for two petitions to list gray wolves under the ESA in the Northern Rocky Mountains and the Western United States. This finding is not action-forcing; the legal status of gray wolves does not change due to this finding.

According to the US Fish & Wildlife Service, Gray wolves are listed under the ESA as endangered in 44 states, threatened in Minnesota, and under state jurisdiction in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and portions of eastern Oregon and Washington. Based on the latest data as of the end of 2022, there were approximately 2,797 wolves distributed across at least 286 packs in seven states in the Western United States. This population size and widespread distribution contribute to the resiliency and redundancy of wolves in this region. The population maintains high genetic diversity and connectivity, further supporting their ability to adapt to future changes.

In a February 2022 op-ed, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland wrote: “I am committed to ensuring that wolves have the conservation they need to survive and thrive in the wild based on science and law… It is critical that we all recognize that our nation’s wolf populations are integral to the health of fragile ecosystems and hold significant cultural importance in our shared heritage.”

The service stated in a press release that to accomplish this and address the concern about nationwide recovery for gray wolves, it will undertake a process to develop a first-ever nationwide gray wolf recovery plan by December 12, 2025. Recovery plans provide a vision for species recovery that is connected to site-specific actions for reducing threats and conserving listed species and their ecosystems.

The service stated that facilitating a more durable and holistic approach to wolf recovery must go beyond the ESA. The Service also recently announced a new effort to create and foster a national dialogue around how communities can live with gray wolves, which includes conflict prevention, long-term stability, and community security. These discussions, led by a third-party convenor, will help inform the Service’s policies and future rulemaking about wolves, including those who live with wolves and those who do not but want to know they have a place on the landscape.

The Service mentions that states and Tribes have been important partners in managing gray wolves and will remain integral to their long-term conservation and acceptance on the landscape. This is important because the federal government’s legal authority alone cannot address the variety of approaches to wolves that generate conflict. The states of Montana and Idaho recently adopted laws and regulations designed to substantially reduce the gray wolf populations in their states using means and measures that are at odds with modern professional wildlife management. The steps the Service outlines today include continued work with state and Tribal partners, including nation-to-nation consultation, to create opportunities to craft enduring solutions that protect wolves and sustain human communities and livelihood. Click HERE to read the full US Fish & Wildlife Service press release.

Let’s hope the Service will work to open dialogues with state and Tribal partners to end the slaughter of wolves in Montana and other western states.

In Wisconsin, the DNR will continue to follow the guidance laid out in the recently approved Wolf Management Plan to the extent consistent with the listed status, the DNR’s authority, and applicable laws. The law, 2011 Act 169, Wisconsin legislators, backed by special interests, wanted to manage the wolves through wolf hunting, and they are behind that law. As a government agency, the DNR must follow the laws. Until that law is removed from the books, it continues to be a thorn in the side of a real and lasting wolf recovery in the state.

The plan was in development for over a year and considered all the voices of wolf stakeholders. It finally came together after much public input, which is against wolf hunts but does support most of the components of the adaptive plan, and was approved on October 25, 2023, with overwhelming public support.

Except for one wolf advocacy organization, the plan was approved. Regarding that one organization, we wish to make the following statement:

Don’t misunderstand my intentions here; I understand the DNR is a government agency capable of making mistakes. WODCW disagrees with the policies of the one organization and wishes to make clear that it doesn’t mean I support all the components in the wolf management plan that the NRB unanimously approved on October 25, 2023. Nor does it mean that I agree with the one organization and their lawsuit against the DNR and the NRB. Their organization doesn’t represent my interests or the interests of all wolf advocates in the state—just their own

Feature image credit https://www.voyageurswolfproject.org/