TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - Michigan is joining the federal government in appealing a decision that restores legal protections for gray wolves in the western Great Lakes region.
Federal Judge Beryl Howell ruled in December that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service erred by dropping the region's wolf population from the list of endangered and threatened species in 2012.
Howell said Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin didn't provide adequate protection and the wolves haven't repopulated their historic range.
Michigan filed an appeal notice Friday. The Fish and Wildlife Service gave notice earlier this month.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources says residents who live with wolves deserve a full range of tools to manage them sustainably. Michigan had a wolf hunt in the Upper Peninsula in 2013.
