Klobuchar Announces Successful Removal of Gray Wolf from Endangered Species List in Minnesota

Press Release

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar announced today that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will remove the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act list in Minnesota and the western Great Lakes states. The announcement comes after Klobuchar worked extensively with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to ensure that wolves would be delisted by the end of 2011.

"Removing the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act list and returning wolf management to the states will help restore balance to our natural habitats, while keeping Minnesota's livestock, pets and residents safe," Klobuchar said."I worked closely with Secretary Salazar to secure this much-needed delistment, and today's announcement is great news for Minnesota ranchers and rural residents."

Klobuchar, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, has been a leader in the effort to immediately delist the Great Lakes gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act list in Minnesota and the western Great Lakes states. She worked with U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to speed up the delisting process and received a commitment from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that a final ruling to delist will be made before the end of 2011. When it became clear that funding for the federal Wolf Predation Management Program would expire September 30, Klobuchar worked closely with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to find funding for the program until the end of the year.

Recent estimates indicate Minnesota's wolf population is nearly 3,000 strong -- approximately double the threshold required under the Endangered Species Act to ensure long-term survival. In 2010, the Department of Agriculture removed 192 problem wolves that were responsible for the deaths of nearly 100 cows and sheep and 15 dogs.

Source