The American government says it plans to remove the Great Lakes gray wolf from the endangered species list claiming the numbers of gray wolves in the Western Great Lakes area, including Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin, have recovered and the species no longer requires the protection of the Endangered Species Act.

There are over  4,000 gray wolves in the three states, mostly in Minnesota and if the law is passed, each state will be required to “manage” the wolves.

Two previous attempts by federal officials to control the numbers of wolves in the region by withdrawing  federal protection of them as endangered species were overturned by courts when environmental groups challenged how much protection the wolves still required.

Fish and Wildlife officials says recent scientific studies indicate there are two distinct species of gray wolf in the region, the gray wolf and the eastern gray wolf, and said they will begin the process of assessing the range of the eastern wolf.

It would be good if a sensible compromise could be reached here, I am sure wolves would understand that life is tough out there in the natural world but, sadly, we all know what will happen if landowners are suddenly allowed to “manage” the wolf population. That was how the wolf became an endangered species in the first place.