Lawsuit seeks delay in wolves removal from protection

A lawsuit seeking to force upper Great Lakes wolves from federal protected status to a state management program is on hold until June.

The suit, filed by Minnesotans Gerald Tyler of Ely and Dale Lueck of Aitkin, is stayed until June 10.

The Minnesota DNR joined the suit as a friend of the court. The DNR's Ed Boggess said the delay gives the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service time to complete a new delisting proposal, due this spring.

"The reason it's being stayed is to give the Fish and Wildlife Service time to do what they've indicated they intend to do, which is also consistent with what the current lawsuit has asked them to do," he said.

Wolves in Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin have twice been removed from the federal list of endangered and threatened species, but environmental groups convinced the courts to reverse those decision.