Minnesota Ranchers want Federal Wildlife Services to continue to be funded to deal with so-called "problem wolves" and for Federal Delisting to occur as it has in the Northern Rockies........Unless a shift in the Political winds take place, expect Great Lake Wolves in Minn, Wisconsin and Michigan to be delisted over the next year with the States taking over management chores.........Forecast is for a less lethal approach to Management around the Great Lakes compared to the Northern Rockies as folks in this region either never lost their wolves or saw populations evolve on their own without Government rewilding programs

By: Jonathan Knutson, Agweek

Minnesota ranchers are optimistic that federal funding for wolf-control measures will continue through Sept. 30, when the budget year ends."It looks like they'll be able to come up with the money," says Dale Lueck, a spokesman for the Minnesota State Cattlemen's Association.The organization also hopes that Congress will approve new funding to control wolves in the next budget year, which runs Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, 2012.In March, Congressional budget cuts eliminated $727,000 in funding for wolf control in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. That raised concerns among Minnesota ranchers, who annually lose several hundred animals to wolves, Lueck says.

Last year, the U.S., Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services in Minnesota investigated a record 272 wolf complaints and trapped 192 wolves, according to published reports. Because wolves are protected by the federal Endangered Species Act, only authorized trappers can trap or kill wolves, even ones preying on livestock.

It now appears that USDA will provide enough money to keep federal trappers on the job for the rest of the budget year, Lueck says.Retaining funding for federal wolf-crop programs in the next budget year is important, too, the Minnesota State Cattlemen's Association says.It urges Minnesota cattle producers to contact their federal legislators and express support for the funding.

The association also is anxious to have wolves in Minnesota removed from Endangered Species Act protection, as the federal government is proposing to do.Delisting wolves would return management of the animal to state and tribal agencies. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that Minnesota has about 2,900 wolves, a number that comes from a 2008-2009 survey. Minnesota doesn't conduct an annual survey. Minnesota's population of gray wolves has been increasing since 1975, when there were about 1,000 to 1,200 of the animals in the state.

Minnesota's current wolf population trails only that of Alaska, which has an estimated 7,700 to 11,200 gray wolves. The Endangered Species Act doesn't protect the animal in Alaska.

The gray wolf was listed in 1974 as endangered in the lower 48 states. Wolves in Minnesota could be removed from Endangered Species Act protection by the end of the year.

.Some conservation groups say that lifting federal protection is premature. Wolves have been delisted in the past, but lawsuits by conservationists led to court rulings against delisting.

Information: www.fws.gov/midwest/wolf.