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Criteria for Recovery in the Western Great Lakes Area


This information is posted for historical purposes and does not reflect current state or federal status nor current wolf population counts.

The criteria listed below are directly from the 1992 revision of the Recovery Plan For The Eastern Timber Wolf. The original recovery plan was prepared by the Eastern Timber Wolf Recovery Team, an interdisciplinary panel of scientists and administrators assembled by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The team's mission was to come up with reasonable actions to recover and/or protect the eastern timber wolf ( Canis lupus lycaon) a subspecies of the gray wolf. At the time the plan was written this subspecies was thought to range from the northeastern United States to western Minnesota. A recent taxonomic review has resulted in the gray wolf population of the western Great Lakes area being newly classified as a different subspecies ( Canis lupus nubilus). None-the-less, the recovery plan still stands as the basis for deciding when to remove the western Great Lakes area subpopulation of the gray wolf from the federal list of threatened and endangered species.

Recovery Criteria
[Before the gray wolf in the western Great Lakes area can be completely taken off the list of threatened and endangered species] at least two viable populations within the 48 United States satisfying the following conditions must exist:

  1. the Minnesota population [of gray wolves] must be stable or growing, and its continued survival be assured, and
  2. a second population outside of Minnesota and Isle Royale must be re-established, having at least 100 wolves in late winter if located within 100 miles of the Minnesota wolf population, or having at least 200 wolves if located beyond that distance. These population levels must be maintained for five consecutive years before delisting can occur. A Wisconsin-Michigan population of 100 wolves is considered to be a viable second population, because continued immigration of Minnesota wolves will supplement it demographically and genetically for the foreseeable future.

Reclassification Criteria
The Wisconsin wolf population should be reclassified to threatened status when the late-winter Wisconsin population is maintained at 80 wolves for three consecutive years. Reclassifying Michigan wolves also may be considered at that time.