Michaela Wallace

Wolves in the Western Great Lakes region were listed as endangered in 1967 and 1974. These wolves were listed as eastern timber wolves. The wolf population in the Western Great Lakes region is and was a mixture of two species and their hybrids. These wolves should be considered as one population because that is how they were listed on the endangered species list over 30 years ago and how they still act today. There is controversy between the DNR and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). “The USFWS says that there is a newly discovered species, the eastern wolf, that exists in the Western Great Lakes as a separate species” (WDNR, 2011). The DNR, however, feels that this species should be considered as part of the eastern timber wolves because all the wolves act as one population. They all breed together and therefore should be considered as one population. The USFWS doesn’t want to take the animals off the endangered species list because of this newly discovered species. They think that if the wolves are no longer endangered that some of the wolves will be killed and this could hurt the eastern wolf’s population. The Wisconsin DNR wants to de-list the wolves because they said that the wolf population has fully recovered. They would still manage the wolf population but they would then be able to control problem wolves or problem wolf packs.
I think the wolves should become de-listed because there are a lot of problem wolves in areas and the problems will continue to get worse unless they are controlled. The wolf population is going to continue to grow and more wolves will become problem wolves. There will be more problem wolves because they are social animals and the packs need different territories and once all the territories are full wolves will start invading on human territories. These wolves will start being in contact with humans more often and that will lead to more problems. Soon people are going to start taking action into their own hands to control the population even though it is illegal. A lot of people are getting sick of wolves killing their dogs or livestock and with the population raising the problems will only get worse. If the wolves were taken off the endangered species list and the problem wolves were controlled a lot of people would be happy. I don’t think that the newly discovered species should stop the wolves from becoming de-listed because there is a lot of controversy, as well, about whether or not this actually is the eastern wolf or just a version of the gray wolf. If this species is in fact the eastern wolf it has always been in the Western Great Lakes region and was listed as endangered as an eastern timber wolf so it should not stop the wolves from becoming de-listed. These eastern wolves breed with the eastern timber wolves and are in packs with them so they should be considered as one population.

Works Cited
WDNR. (2011, September 20). DNR Secretary Stepp: “Wisconsin urgently needs wolf delisting”. Retrieved November 2, 2011, from Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources: http://dnr.wi.gov/news/DNRNews_article_Lookup.asp?id=1919