I discovered this page on the website of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and thought I would post it here. It’s a pretty good resource in that it covers a time line from 1974, when the gray wolf in the lower 48 states was declared endangered, to the present time when the Obama administration put a halt to the Proposed Ruling to remove the gray wolf from federal protection in parts of the Northern Rocky Mountains and the Western Great Lakes.
On January 20, 2009, Rahm Emanuel, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, issued a memorandum concerning the management of the Federal regulatory process at the beginning of the new Administration. As relevant to the Northern Rocky Mountain (NRM) & Western Great Lakes (WGL) wolf Distinct Population Segment (DPS) rulemakings, this memorandum directed all agencies to withdraw from the Office of the Federal Register all proposed and final regulations that have not been published in the Federal Register so that they can be reviewed and approved by a department or agency head appointed by the President.
FWS Announces Final Rule to Identify the Northern Rocky Mountain (NRM) Population of Gray Wolf as a Distinct Population Segment (DPS) and to Revise the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife
October 2008 – Reopening of Comment Period on Proposed Rule Establishing and Delisting the NRM Gray Wolf DPS
* Federal Register Notice Reopening Comment Period
U.S. District Court for the District of Montana Court Orders
* Montana District Court’s Preliminary Injunction Order (July 18, 2008)
* Montana District Court’s Vacatur and Remand Order (October 14, 2008)
* Federal Register Rule Implementing District Court Rulings (December 11, 2008)
February 2008 – Final Rule Establishing and Delisting the NRM Gray Wolf DPS
* Federal Register Notice (868 KB PDF) Literature cited list
* Press Release
January 2008 – Final Rule for Revision of Special Regulation for the Central Idaho and Yellowstone Area Nonessential Experimental Populations of Gray Wolves
* Federal Register Notice Literature Cited
* Finding of No Significant Impact and Final EA (1.2 MB PDF)
* Press Release
July 2007 – Reopening of Comment Period on Proposed Rule Establishing and Delisting the NRM Gray Wolf DPS
February 2007 – Proposed rule Establishing and Delisting the NRM Gray Wolf DPS
August 1, 2006 – FWS Announces 12-Month Finding on a Petition to Establish and Delist the NRM Gray Wolf Population:
January 2005 – New Regulation (10(j) Special Rule) Allows Greater Management Flexibility of Gray Wolves for the States of Montana and Idaho:
2005 – Final Rule to Change Status of Gray Wolf Throughout Most of the Lower 48 States Overturned:
* Oregon District Court Decision
* Vermont District Court Decision
2003 – Final Rule to Designate 3 District Population Segments and Change the ESA Status of the Gray Wolf throughout Most of the Lower 48 States:
* Federal Register Notice (670 KB PDF)
1994 – Establishment of Nonessential Experimental Populations of Gray Wolves:
* Federal Register Notice (HTML)
* Federal Register Notice (6 MB PDF)
1978 – Reclassification of the Gray Wolf in the United States and Mexico, with Determination of Critical Habitat in Michigan and Minnesota:
* Federal Register Notice (1.1 MB PDF)
1974 – Gray Wolf Listed as Endangered in the Lower 48 States and Mexico:
Tom Remington
