A federal judge has ordered that

endangered species protection for gray wolves must immediately be

restored in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. The decision puts an

end to controversial hunts in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

U.S. District Court Judge Beryl A.

Howell returned management of wolves in the western Great Lakes

states to the federal government, overturning a 2012 decision by the

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"The D.C. Circuit has noted that,

at times, a court ‘must lean forward from the bench to let an agency

know, in no uncertain terms, that enough is enough,’" Judge

Howell wrote in her 111 page decision. "This case is one of

those times."

The Humane Society of the United

States and other animal welfare groups filed the suit last February.

They argued Fish and Wildlife’s decision to remove the wolf from

endangered species protection threatens the animals’ recovery in the

Great Lakes region.

More than 1,500 wolves have been

killed since Minnesota and Wisconsin authorized hunting seasons in

2011, said Jonathan Lovvorn, senior vice president and chief counsel

at the Human Society. "We are pleased that the court has

recognized that the basis for the de-listing decision was flawed, and

would stop wolf recovery in its tracks," he added in a

statement.

The other plaintiffs in the suit

include Born Free USA, Help Our Wolves Live and Friends of Animals

and Their Environment.

The decision restores wolves to

"threatened" status in Minnesota, and "endangered"

in Wisconsin and Michigan. People may kill wolves in self-defense,

but not to protect livestock or pets, said Minnesota DNR spokesman

Chris Niskanen. Federal workers must be enlisted to kill wolves when

there is proof they are threatening animals.

Niskanen said the agency received the

decision late in the day, and hadn’t had time to digest the lengthy

ruling or determine what it means for the state in the long term, and

whether there is basis for appeal.

It’s been more than 40 years since the

federal government imposed protections to prevent wolves from going

extinct in the lower 48 states.

Since 2003 the federal government has

tried four times to "de-list" the wolf from the Endangered

Species List in the Great Lakes region, arguing the wolf had

recovered to sustainable levels. The first three attempts were

blocked by lawsuits.

"We’ve been in this sort of

netherworld where it’s gone from state management to federal

protections back to state management," said Niskanen.

The fourth attempt to remove the wolf

from the Endangered Species List in January 2012 succeeded. That’s

when Minnesota and the other states assumed management of their wolf

populations.

Minnesota and Wisconsin have since

held three wolf hunts. Michigan authorized a hunt, but voters

overturned that decision in a referendum vote in November.

Wisconsin’s Department of Natural

Resources said in a statement Friday night that it is reviewing the

decision, but that hunting and killing wolves to protect pets and

livestock is now illegal in the state. The statement noted while the

"department is disappointed by this decision, we will continue

to support USFWS and their original decision to de-list and remain

confident in the State of Wisconsin’s ability to manage our wolf

population."

Minnesota’s third hunting and trapping

season just ended last week with the killing of 272 wolves, 22 more

than the target amount. That prompted protests outside DNR

headquarters in St. Paul, led by Howling for Wolves, which has

opposed the hunt.

Founder Maureen Hackett said the

ruling is "good news for the future of Minnesota wolves. The

vast majority of Minnesotans do want to protect wolves for future

generations," she said. "So we have to come up with a

smart, rational way of allowing wolves to exist."

The latest DNR population survey

estimated Minnesota’s wolf population at 470 packs and 2,423

individuals. That’s 212 more wolves than estimated last year, but

about 500 fewer than the last estimate before hunting began.

DNR officials have argued the state

can have a regulated hunting and trapping season and still assure the

iconic predator continues to thrive.

"We’re highly invested in making

sure that the wolf is protected in Minnesota," said agency

spokesman Niskanen. "There’s no desire by the DNR to endanger

the long term future of wolves in Minnesota. They’re an important

part of the ecosystem."

Minnesota Public Radio News can be heard on MPR’s statewide radio network or online at mprnews.org. 

PHOTO: In this February 2008 photo,

in Ely, Minn. (AP Photo/John Flesher)