Court ruling puts wolves back on endangered list in Wisconsin

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Wisconsin must stop killing grey wolves that put crops and livestock in danger.

That’s after a federal judge struck down an order from last year which removed the wolf from the endangered species list in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan.

The Badger State began its own management program in 2007, after the wolf population grew higher than expected.

Forty-five problem wolves were killed this year alone. But Judge Paul Friedman of Washington said it’s against the law for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to let wolves remain endangered in some parts of the country, but not others.

The ruling was a victory for the U.S. Humane Society, which filed suit right after the latest order was imposed in March of 2007.

State officials thought this would happen and they tried to take advantage of a possible short window.

Now, the Department of Natural Resources’ Adrian Wydeven said the state will ask the Fish and Wildlife Service for the OK to kill problem wolves in more limited cases.

There was talk of a wolf hunt in recent months to keep the population in check. But the DNR’s Adrian Wydeven says it’s no longer in the cards.

Wisconsin has 564 wolves, well above the goal of 350 when the state’s wolf recovery program began a number of years ago.

Tags: outdoor, grey, wolf, protected