U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman in Washington, D.C., said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service could not remove wolves from the endangered species list in the Great Lakes region while wolves remained endangered in other parts of the country. (jsonline.com)

Another instance of a judge sticking his nose in where it doesn’t belong. The fact that animals are underpopulated in certain areas has nothing to do with maintaining proper numbers in other areas. Wisconsin has needed to kill at least 45 wolves this year, when they became a problem to farmers and landowners. With the current rising prices of food, the last thing we need is to increase the liklihood of losses to farmers due to an overpopulation of predators that destroy livestock. Predators that are under no pressure from humans (are not hunted) are going to lose their fear, and become an increasingly large threat. Something like this is best decided on a regional basis, not from a Federal bench in Washington.