Decision to delist gray wolves upheld ENDANGERED SPECIES

This photo provided by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks shows a gray wolf pup from the Calder Mountain pack along the Montana and Idaho borders west of Troy, Mont. in this August 2005, file photo. It less This photo provided by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks shows a gray wolf pup from the Calder Mountain pack along the Montana and Idaho borders west of Troy, Mont. in this August 2005, file ... more Photo: Kent Kauden, Montana Dept Of FW&P Photo: Kent Kauden, Montana Dept Of FW&P Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Decision to delist gray wolves upheld 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

After reversing President George W. Bush on several environmental rules in its first month, the Obama administration let stand Friday one of Bush's last-minute changes: The gray wolf will be removed from the endangered species list in the Northern Rockies and the western Great Lakes region.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced the decision, saying the finding by the Fish and Wildlife Service under Bush was "a supportable one. ... Scientists have concluded that recovery has occurred." The regions together have a population of nearly 5,600 wolves.

He also agreed with the Bush administration's decision to keep the wolf on the endangered species list in Wyoming, calling that state's wolf recovery plan insufficient.

But management of the predator will be turned over to state agencies in Montana and Idaho and parts of Washington, Oregon and Utah, in addition to the Great Lakes states of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

The delisting of the gray wolf was the latest chapter in an ongoing battle between the federal government and environmental groups, which successfully sued to keep the animal on the endangered list.

Bush's Interior Department announced the delisting in the final days of his term, and it wasn't finalized by the time President Obama took office and froze all pending rule changes.

Salazar's announcement Friday almost assuredly means environmentalists will sue again to keep the wolf under federal protection, continuing the saga of an animal that rouses fierce debate among ranchers and conservationists in the West.

Wolves once roamed much of North America but dwindled to near-extinction before the administration of President Bill Clinton reintroduced them in Yellowstone National Park.

Populations grew quickly enough that a decade after reintroduction, Bush officials tried to remove the wolf from the endangered list, only to be blocked by the courts.

The announcement by Salazar, who grew up on a ranch in rural Colorado, came after a string of Obama administration moves to freeze or roll back Bush-era environmental decisions. The Interior Department alone has slowed efforts to increase oil and gas development offshore and in Rocky Mountain shale.

On Tuesday, Obama marked the department's 160th anniversary by announcing he was overruling a Bush decision to allow federal agencies to determine on their own whether construction projects would harm endangered species. Obama restored the practice of requiring all agencies to consult with expert biologists about potential impact to protected plants or wildlife.