Wolves might be cut from endangered list

WASHINGTON, March 16 (UPI) -- A federal official released details of a plan Thursday to remove gray wolves in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan from federal Endangered Species protection.

U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton said the plan would return the species' management to the Department of Natural Resources, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. The gray wolf has been on the protected list since 1974, when only an estimated 700 remained in Minnesota only.

Minnesota currently has an estimated 3,000 gray wolves, with another 800 to 900 in Wisconsin and Michigan.

Public hearings on the proposal will be held in each of the three states, with a final decision on the proposal expected within the next year, the Star Tribune said.