U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar has announced that the Department of Interior has taken the first step in the process to delist the Great Lakes gray wolf. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a draft rule on April 15 to delist the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act list in Minnesota and the western Great Lakes states. Publication of the draft rule is the first step in developing a final ruling before the end of 2011, a timeline Klobuchar asked Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar for in a letter last December.
“Recently we have seen an increase in the number of wolves in Minnesota,” Klobuchar said. “The focus here is to restore balance to the natural habitat and I’m glad this important first step has been taken.”
Earlier this month, Klobuchar spoke with U.S. Agriculture Department Secretary Tom Vilsack about finding critical funding for Minnesota’s wolf management program, which is managed by the Agriculture Department. Recent estimates indicate Minnesota’s wolf population is nearly 3,000 strong – nearly double the threshold required under the Endangered Species Act to ensure long-term survival.
Similar efforts to delist other species on the Endangered Species Act list, such as the bald eagle, have resulted in the successful preservation of their populations.
Klobuchar is a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee.
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