Gray wolves in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan have recovered from the threat of extinction, prompting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to propose removing the wolves in the western Great Lakes region from the federal list of threatened and endangered species, Interior Secretary Gale Norton said Thursday. We commend our partners states, tribes, conservation organizations, and local residents for their dedicated efforts to ensure the wolf is an enduring part of the landscape in the Upper Midwest, Norton said. Our proposal to delist the gray wolf indicates our confidence that those who will assume management of the species will safeguard its long-term survival.