By Laura Weber, Michigan Public Radio Network
LANSING, MI –
A state lawmaker from the Upper Peninsula says the gray wolf should be taken off the federal endangered species list.
Democratic state Representative Mike Lahti sponsored a resolution asking the federal government to take Michigan's gray wolves off the list. That would allow people to shoot or trap nuisance wolves that attack pets and livestock. There are 600 wolves in the Upper Peninsula. Lahti says the wolf population could get too big without more control.
"And when they start - when human contact and wolf contact gets to be so great that it's too close and it's not good for the humans and it's not good for the wolves either," he says.
The Humane Society of Michigan says the wolves should stay on the endangered species list. Lahti says he thinks there is a good chance the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will honor his request.