The Service has completed its plan to monitor the status of the recovered and delisted Western Great Lakes Distinct Population Segment of the gray wolf.  The Endangered Species Act requires the Service to monitor, for no less than five years, the status of any species or Distinct Population Segment removed from the list of endangered and threatened species due to its recovery.  The Service delisted this DPS of the gray wolf in 2007. 

The plan focuses on reviewing and evaluating (1) population characteristics of the species, (2) threats to the species, and (3) implementation of legal and management commitments that are important in reducing or controlling threats to the DPS.

Monitoring will be focused in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the core wolf recovery areas within the DPS, and its success will depend largely on the monitoring programs conducted by these three states and their partners, including tribes. 

The Service attached, as an Appendix, its responses to comments received during the 2007 public comment period and revised the plan, as appropriate, in response to these comments.  A copy of the plan may be downloaded from the Service's website, http://www.fws.gov/midwest/wolf/pdm/index.htm.