Dale Hall, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said the agency had learned from the court case and believed its new plans would survive lawsuits.
At their low ebb, a few hundred wolves in Minnesota were all that remained in the Great Lakes region. After being listed, they quickly increased and migrated east. Latest estimates show more than 3,000 in Minnesota, over 460 in Wisconsin and more than 430 in Michigan, plus 30 on Isle Royale in Lake Superior.
"A classic Endangered Species Act success story," said Rodger Schlickeisen, president of the environmentalist group Defenders of Wildlife. "The remarkable recovery efforts to restore the wolf have paid off, and the states are ready to assume the responsibilities of managing their own wolf populations."
But environmentalists said the proposal to delist Northern Rockies wolves was premature and that management plans drawn up in those states seemed designed for eradication rather than protection. Other critics say the government is moving too slowly to shield elk and other prey animals from wolves.
