Gray Wolves In Michigan To Come Off Endangered Species List
Well the federal government will no longer have the backs of the Gray Wolves found in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.. The Trump administration has announced the species will come off the endangered species list soon. Without government protection the fate of the Gray Wolf would now fall under the regulation of the state of Michigan.
Those that fear for the wolves worry that it will become almost like open season on the wolves as farmers shoot them to protect livestock. Many feel the delisting is too early and the danger is in how much new leeway will be given to destroying the wolves to dangerously low levels once again and the continued fear that the numbers would drop too low to fully recover again.
The Trump administration defended their decision amid expected lawsuits over the danger of delisting the wolves too early.
“the delisting of gray wolves is evidence of the wolves’ successful recovery that showed the Trump administration’s “commitment to species conservation based on the parameters of the law and the best scientific and commercial data available.” - Interior Department Secretary David Bernhardt
Over 700 Gray Wolves roam the Upper Peninsula currently but don't expect to see wolf hunts lined up just yet. The species was pushed to the brink of extinction during a massive slew of killings in the the1930's that aimed was at the wolves. Many upper peninsula farmers and politicians have favored less restrictive measures against destroying the wolves, but only those wolves that are a threat to livestock and humans.