The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a new rule Oct. 29 to remove Endangered Species Act protections for the gray wolf across the lower 48 states.
The Duluth News Tribune reported Interior Secretary David Bernhardt announced the final rule at the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Bloomington, MN.
Management of the gray wolf will be passed to the state level. Environmental groups are expected to sue to block the rule, which will take effect at the end of November. The new rule will not apply to the Mexican wolf, a subspecies of the gray wolf, as it is listed as a different animal under the Endangered Species Act.
The news of the rule came less than a week before the people of Colorado voted on a proposition to introduce gray wolves to the state.
“The recovery and delisting of the gray wolf is an outstanding victory under the Endangered Species Act and should be celebrated accordingly. Today’s announcement is the culmination of decades of work done by cattle producers and landowners nationwide to protect habitat ensuring wolf recovery efforts were successful, even when impacts to their livelihoods were significant,” said National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Vice President and Minnesota rancher Don Schiefelbein.
