A comprehensive outreach plan was developed and implemented by External Affairs and Ecological Services to announce the Service's proposal to remove the gray wolf from the endangered species list in the western Great Lakes region of the country. 

The outreach plan identified communication goals, messages, products and assignments, strategies and key dates and audiences.  External Affairs was responsible for developing the outreach plan, news release, summary of the proposed rule, and edited/reviewed other materials including several wolf fact sheets, text for a display, two sets of questions and answers, and materials posted on the website. 

External Affairs worked with Washington public affairs as well as Public Affairs offices in other affected regions.  A media teleconference was organized, media contacts made, and follow-up media inquiries were handled.  A contact grid was developed and information distributed to field office staff. 

External Affairs also assisted in the preparation for, and attended public hearings in conjunction with, the proposal -- drafting news releases and media advisories and staffing the meetings in Marquette and Grayling.