The Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. has now entered its final order upholding Wyoming’s wolf management plan, Wyoming Governor Matt Mead announced Tuesday.  This confirms Wyoming’s management of wolves, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service will file notice in the Federal Register soon.

“I am delighted that the Circuit Court recognized Wyoming’s commitment to manage a recovered wolf population,” said Governor Mead. “Our wolf management plan is a result of years of hard work by people across Wyoming. We recognize the need to maintain a healthy wolf population. I thank former Secretaries of the Interior Ken Salazar and Sally Jewell as well as former Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department for their commitment to getting this done. This is a good day for Wyoming.”

The state of Wyoming managed wolves from 2012 to 2014, until a federal District Court judge reinstated federal protections for wolves on the premise that "population commitments in Wyoming’s wolf management plan needed to be found in regulation or statute", according to a release from Governor Mead's office. Both the state of Wyoming and the federal government appealed that decision, and prevailed in the D.C. Circuit Court.

For more information about wolf management in the Trophy Game Management Area or the predator zone, you can contact the Wyoming Game and Fish Department or visit their website: wgfd.wyo.gov.

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