Gray Wolf May Lose Protected Status

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Thursday that it may drop the gray wolf from the nation’s endangered species list.

Currently, gray wolves cannot be killed unless they become a threat to human life. But the agency says the animal’s recovery goals have been met.

The proposal to end the protection is “based on sound science and predicated on wolves already being delisted in the Northern Rocky Mountains and Western Great Lakes,” the agency said in a statement obtained by Center for Biological Diversity.

"Unfortunately, the delisting of wolves in the Western Great Lakes region was successfully overturned by the courts, which prevented the Service from moving forward with the full delisting proposal at that time."

The agency said a “robust, transparent and open public process that will provide opportunity for public comment” before any changes are made.

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