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Klobuchar Wants Gray Wolves Off Endangered List

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar wants the federal government to speed up the removal of gray wolves in Minnesota from the endangered list.

Klobuchar says the increased number of wolves in the state could threaten residents, livestock and Minnesota's hunting industry.

She sent a letter Tuesday to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, urging him to expedite the removal of western Great Lakes gray wolves from the endangered list.

Klobuchar says Minnesota's wolf population is now estimated at nearly 3,000 -- nearly double the 1,600 minimum the Endangered Species Act requires to ensure long-term survival.

She says like the bald eagle, the gray wolf "has made a comeback" in Minnesota. But she says those wolves are now "hurting our farms, families and businesses, and our hunting industry."

(© Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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