Let feds oversee, protect gray #wolves

SCOTT BLOCK, ST. CLOUD

April 1, 2015

(Photo: AP)

I'm writing on behalf of the wolves in Minnesota. Some seem to forget how incredibly important they are — to the forest ecosystem, to the wolf packs themselves, to Native Americans, to our tourism, and as a symbol to our state.

After being on the endangered species list, the wolf was delisted and management of wolves went back to our state, and to all states. Typically, this a positive development, but last fall the federal courts said that states were not doing a good job managing the wolves. The court placed them back on the endangered species list. The court specifically said state management was risking our wolf population. And this is alarming.

I hope our state and federal leaders support effective, science-based and nonlethal wolf plans to support the gray wolf population into the future so communities and wolves can coexist. Let's keep wolves listed as "threatened" and let the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service get wolf management right.

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