Grey wolf express5/6/2023 ![]() ![]() rufus, and note that it is listed as endangered where found. We continue to recognize the red wolf as the species C. lupus) throughout the contiguous United States and Mexico, except for the Minnesota gray wolf population, which was classified as threatened. In 1978, the Service published a rule reclassifying the gray wolf as an endangered population at the taxonomic species level ( C. This eventually became the Endangered Species Act of 1973. ![]() ![]() This List was published on March 11, 1967, under the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966 – the first piece of federal legislation that would allow native species of fish and wildlife, at risk of extinction, to be formally protected within their range. What is the history of gray wolves under the ESA?įederal protections were first established for two species of wolves under the Endangered Species List in 1967 the red wolf ( Canis niger) and the eastern timber wolf ( Canis lupus lycaon). The total number of confirmed records in each of these states, since the early 2000s, ranges from one in Nevada to at least 27 in North Dakota. Lone long-distance dispersing wolves have been reported from the listed states of Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Nevada. In addition, Colorado Parks and Wildlife personnel confirmed the presence of a single group of at least six wolves in northwest Colorado. In western Oregon, western Washington and northern California there are seven known breeding pairs (note: because of effective documented dispersal, wolves in these states are an extension of the metapopulation of wolves in western Canada and the northern Rocky Mountains). Wolves have also begun to expand into western Oregon, western Washington, northern California and most recently in northwest Colorado. There are further 12,000-14,000 wolves in eastern Canada and 15,000 in western Canada, each of which is connected to the adjacent gray wolf population in the United States. The population in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota is about 4,200 strong, with the Northern Rocky Mountains population in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon, Washington, northern California and most recently in northwest Colorado standing at around 1,900. Today, the vast majority of wolves in the lower 48 exist as two large, stable or growing populations totaling more than 6,000 individuals that are broadly distributed across the northern portions of three states in the Great Lakes area and all or portions of five states in the northern Rocky Mountains. Under the ESA, if we determine that a species is no longer threatened or endangered throughout all or a significant portion of its range, the Service must publish in the Federal Register a proposed rule to remove the species from the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants in title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations (50 CFR 17.11 and 17.12). By any scientific measure, gray wolves no longer meet the ESA’s standard for protection and so should be delisted. The measure under the ESA is whether wolves are in danger of extinction (endangered) or at risk of becoming so in the foreseeable future (threatened) throughout all or a significant portion of its range. The ESA does not require wolves to be present throughout all of its former range, or for populations to be at historic levels for delisting to occur. The regulatory mechanisms put in place by these partners will continue to benefit gray wolves and ensure the long- term survival of the species. Many of our state and tribal partners in areas where the wolf is already delisted continue to demonstrate their ability to responsibly manage wolf populations so they are healthy and sustainable. This remarkable recovery success is a result of more than 45 years of collaboration and partnerships with states, tribes, conservation organizations, private landowners and other federal partners. Recovery of the gray wolf under the ESA is one of our nation’s great conservation successes, with the wolf joining species such as the bald eagle, peregrine falcon, American alligator and brown pelican that have been brought back from the brink with the help of the ESA. This final determination is specific to the gray wolf and does not include the separate listing of the Mexican wolf ( Canis lupus baileyi) as endangered under the ESA. Fish and Wildlife Service finalized a rule to delist gray wolves ( Canis lupis) currently listed in the contiguous United States and Mexico under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) due to recovery. ![]()
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