Wolf restoration in the Western Great Lakes is an Endangered Species Act success story.

More than 30 years of federal protections and careful stewardship by the states in the region helped to bring this critically important creature back from fewer than 1,000 individuals—all in Minnesota at the time of listing in 1974—to current numbers of more than 4,000 animals in Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin. Defenders is actively involved in the state wolf management planning process by serving on state wolf management stakeholder groups and attending annual regional wolf conferences.