Tuesday, March 04, 2008Last Update: 9:58:55 PM

     WASHINGTON (CN) - Northern Rocky Mountain gray wolf populations are stable, so the Interior Department will remove them from the endangered species list March 28. Removal from the list returns management of wolf populations to the states in which they live, which, in this case is Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and parts of Washington, Oregon and Utah. The Federal Government has protected U.S. grey wolves since the 1970's when they almost became extinct due to their habitat being turned into farmland, the decimation of their natural prey, and the direct killing of the wolves to keep them from raiding livestock. The Western Great Lakes gray wolves were delisted last year, leaving their protection mostly to Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan state governments. The other gray wolf populations in the United States remain endangered. If Wyoming's state plan does not go into effect by mid-March, the Federal Government will continue to protect the significant part of the gray wolf's range in northwestern Wyoming outside the National Parks. Click here for details and other new regulations and notices.