Whether wolves in the Upper Midwest are better off being managed by the states and Native American tribes or should continue to be managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act is a subject of much debate.
On November 18, 2015, twenty-six wildlife professionals sent a letter to Department of Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe to support the federal delisting of gray wolves within the Western Great Lakes region (November-2015-Wolf-Delisting-letter)
Two weeks later, seventy scientists and scholars summarized their conclusions in an open letter that wolves in the Great Lakes states should continue to be federally protected under the Endangered Species Act (Wolf_conservation_open_letter).
The Northland College Timber Wolf Alliance has not taken a position on this issue. The TWA supports the scientific management of wolves and believes wolves play critical roles in forest ecosystems. The TWA also believes wolf management should be an inclusive process that allows all interested parties to equally participate, including Native American governments for whom wolves play major cultural, as well as, ecological roles.
Towards TWA’s goal of promoting science, research and public education to ensure healthy wolf populations in the Upper Midwest, we share both of these letters.
