Author: Steve Karnowski Date: February 12 th, 2013 Source: The Associated Press

Information About the Article This article is a secondary source and discusses the lawsuit that has been brought up in the upper Midwest concerning the bringing back of protection over the gray wolves in the Great Lakes region and the area surrounding it.

The Lawsuit at Hand The lawsuit from the Humane Society of the US as well as a few other groups against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service & U.S. Dept of the Interior, calls for restoration of the gray wolves title as endangered within the Great Lakes region since it was lifted last year. Also Includes: Help Our Wolves Live as well as Friends of Animals and Their Environment

The Protection for Years Its been 40 years since precautions have been put in place by the government to save them from extinction, which was included within the Endangered Species Act. They once roamed all 48 lower states, but hardly do today. Populations have risen to 4,000 between the Great Lakes region and Rocky Mountains combined, but is a much smaller area in comparison to the past.

Hunting Since the protection has been uplifted, many wolves have been killed for no real or appropriate reason. This includes: Thought of being trophies in a sense Blamed for killing livestock, when not always the case Bad rep because of stories Between Minnesota and Wisconsin alone, 530 were killed in the most recent season. -National Geographic

Trophies

The lawsuit and what it comes down to… The states' management plans would allow a 50% decline in the region's population if hunting and trapping took it down to the minimum levels allowed under their plans… Also included, that with the sudden decline, it would harm the chances of thoroughly dispersing the wolf repopulation to its native areas. There have also been talks to include Wyoming within this.

What I learned… There has been a lawsuit brought up, going against the uplifting of the protection on these amazing animals. Well over 500 wolves have been killed in two states alone for no true reason, which is upsetting. There is more groups involved than originally thought including H.O.W.L, and The Friends of Animals and Their Environment. Along with this many groups are behind this, even if not a part of the lawsuit.

How it Relates to Class… This ties into our class because it has to do with endangered species, which is something we covered recently. This includes how killing off of a species cannot possibly be seen as a good thing, since the animal is doing no true harm.

Questions Do you think it is necessary to restore the protection that the wolves were under? Do you think it was right to remove the protection presented by the government in the first place after 40 years? Should we continue to restore populations of endangered species within our nation?

References Karnowski, Steve. "Lawsuit: Put Gray Wolves Back on Endangered Species List in Upper Midwest." NBC News. The Associated Press, 12 Feb Web. 18 Feb "Wildlife Protection Groups File Suit to Restore Federal Protection for Great Lakes Wolves : The Humane Society of the United States." RSS. Human Society of the United States, 12 Feb Web. 18 Feb