When the wolves (Canis lupus) were listed as endangered in 1978, only several hundred wolves were present in Minnesota and a small number of wolves in Wisconsin and Michigan.  The recovery strategy in this Midwest region focused on expanding the healthy population from the Minnesota-Canadian border and establishing one or two additional populations in the three-state area.  Wolves in this region were removed from the endangered species list in 2011 when the population was more than 3,600 in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan.
 

• Gray Wolves in the Western Great Lakes States Program