Scientific Classification of Wolves

Gray Wolves

Red Wolves

Ethiopian Wolves

Wolf Prey and Predation

Wolf Populations

Wolf Management and Conservation

Yellowstone After Wolves

Depredation
(9 items)

Are Wolves Endangered

IUCN Manifesto on Wolf Conservation

Federal Process of Reclassification and the Endangered Species Act

Federal Process of Reclassification and Delisting

Federal Wildlife Service Proposal for Reclassification

Status of Delisting and Reclassifying Gray Wolves

Ruling Made in Second Lawsuit Regarding the 2003 Reclassification
Jess Edberg, International Wolf Center Staff

U.S. District Judge J. Garvan Murtha of Vermont ruled against the U.S. Department of Interior on August 19, 2005 declaring that they violated federal law in 2003 with their final rule reclassifying gray wolf populations in the lower 48 United States.

The 2003 reclassification attempt categorized wolves in geographic portions of the lower 48 states into Distinct Population Segments - combining the recovery population of wolves in the Great Lakes Area (Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan) with roughly the northeast quarter of the continental United States where no wolves have established populations. The lawsuit charged that the lumping of states without recovered populations of wolves in with those that did violated the Endangered Species Act, and thus the subsequent proposal to delist wolves there was improper.

In his decision, Murtha wrote that the Fish and Wildlife Service "simply cannot downlist or delist an area that it previously determined warrants an endangered listing because it 'lumps together' a core population with a low to nonexistent population outside the core area."

At this time, the ruling is under review by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and no comments can be made regarding what steps they plan to take as a result.

Visit the USFWS: Midwest and Eastern Regions Web site for information and a link to the Oregon District Court ruling and order, and ESA status of the gray wolf.

Feds told to bring gray wolf back to Northeast: Judge rules Interior Department violated law [article]