Wolf group schedules meetings

The Maine field office of the International Wolf Center is holding informal discussions throughout the state to provide information to residents who may want to participate in the federal rule-making process for moving the wolf from its current endangered status under the Endangered Species Act to a status called threatened. The reclassification is being proposed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Scheduled programs will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at the following places:

May 18 at the Princeton Community Center in Princeton.

May 24 at the Ashland Community Center.

May 25 at the Caribou Recreation Center.

May 26 at the Fort Kent Town Office conference room.

The wolf’s current status is endangered in the lower 48 states, except Minnesota, where it is listed as threatened. A section of the proposed change calls for removing the wolf from the endangered species list in most of the eastern United States, but not including Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont or New York.

In these four states, the government agency proposes to reclassify the wolf as threatened. Threatened status still protects the species, yet allows for some flexibility in its management. A recovery plan for the wolf in the four states will be written by the USFWS in conjunction with the proposal.